First lady Jill Biden has been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a common and treatable form of skin cancer, NBC affiliate KCRA3 reported Jan. 16.
Her diagnosis could spur cancer advocacy and research.
"The first lady's fight against cancer has always been personal. She knows that cancer touches us all," Ms. Biden's spokesperson, Vanessa Valdivia, said in the report.
Ms. Biden has seen several friends and family members die of cancer, according to the report. She established the Biden Breast Health Initiative, one of the first breast health programs in the U.S., after a close friend died of breast cancer in 1993.
The Biden administration has set a goal to cut cancer death rates by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of living with and surviving cancer for patients and their families.
"We're ensuring that all of our government is ready to get to work," Ms. Biden said at the relaunch announcement at the White House in February. "We're going to break down the walls that hold research back. We're going to bring the best of our nation together — patients, survivors, caregivers, researchers, doctors, and advocates — all of you — so that we can get this done."