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Doctors Remove Cancerous Lesion From President Clinton's Back

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FRANK SESNO, CNN ANCHOR: A quick recess here by the Senate Judiciary Committee is there under way with the confirmation hearings, and spirited confirmation hearings, we get a sense already, of John Ashcroft, the man who is, if the Senate goes along with the president- elect's wishes to be the next attorney general of the United States of America.

However, there is other news that we're tracking this day, and we want to quickly go around the horn and get some of that. To our White House correspondent Major Garrett now, a development on the health of President Bill Clinton -- Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Frank. Yes, the story begins on Friday, when the president had a routine medical exam. At that exam, a lesion was found on his back. The lesion was removed. A biopsy performed, and today, White House Press Secretary Jake Siewert confirmed that that biopsy revealed that the president has a superficial basal cell skin cancer.

Now, the entire tissue was removed. The doctors said there was no surrounding cancer in the area, but just to be sure, the surrounding area was treated with what is standardly done in a situation like this, a burning and scraping to make sure there could be no recurrence of skin cancer immediately in that area.

But doctors have advised the president, because of the skin cancer in this particular area on his back, that there is a higher rate of recurrence there. They have asked him to come back for a checkup in four months, and if no skin cancer is detected then, then to come back and every year thereafter just to make sure there is no reoccurrence.

The White House does like to point out that this is the mildest form of skin cancer, and 800,000 to 1 million Americans have been treated every year -- Frank.

SESNO: And Major, to be clear, as it currently stands, as it's understood, the cancerous growth was removed in its entirety?

GARRETT: It was removed completely. No skin cancer in the surrounding area, a very good prognosis for the president -- Frank.

SESNO: All right, Major Garrett at the White House.

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