New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been diagnosed with skin cancer.
She gave an update on her health on Thursday, noting she will undergo a “small removal procedure” on Friday.
“My doctor discovered a basal cell carcinoma, a tiny tiny speck on my nose you can’t even see it," Hochul said in a statement, per 13WHAM.
“I’m not going under it’s a local [anesthesia],” the 66-year-old added. “I’ll be back to work about an hour later but there will be a bandage on my nose.”
The Democrat said other members of her family have been diagnosed with skin cancer.
Hochul took over as governor after Andrew Cuomo resigned following allegations of sexual harassment. She previously served as New York’s lieutenant governor for seven years. When she took office in August of 2021, Hochul was the first woman to ever hold the state’s gubernatorial office.
She won her first full term in November of 2022 after defeating Congressman Lee Zeldin by roughly 327,000 votes. Her current term ends on Jan. 1, 2027.
Skin cancer is considered the most common type of cancer worldwide.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by age 70. More than 2 people die of skin cancer every hour and more than 9,500 people are diagnosed every day.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer with 3.6 million cases diagnosed in the United States each year. The cancer type is linked to sun exposure.
President Joe Biden had several cancerous lesions removed from his chest in February of 2023. His doctor later confirmed they were basal cell carcinomas. The president did not require any other treatment.
First Lady Jill Biden had two basal cell carcinomas removed from her right eye and chest in January of the same year.
“Basal cell carcinoma is a slow-growing cancer that usually is confined to the surface of skin — doctors almost always can remove it all with a shallow incision — and seldom causes serious complications or becomes life-threatening, “ reports AP News.
