Reagan Has ‘Bump’ Taken Off Nose; Biopsy Ordered

President Reagan had an irritated patch of skin removed from his nose by a dermatologist Tuesday, his spokesman said today, and the specimen is being routinely checked for cancer.

Spokesman Larry Speakes said that Reagan had had a “bump” on his nose for months and that it became irritated by adhesive tape when he was hospitalized for cancer surgery last month.

Speakes said the skin procedure was performed without anesthesia in the office of White House physician T. Burton Smith.

When asked whether doctors had discussed whether the small buildup of skin might be a sign of skin cancer, Speakes replied, “You look at any irritation on your face in those terms.”

Speakes said the White House did not yet have the results of the biopsy.

In an interview a week ago, Reagan said his major surgery last month, in which a two-inch polyp and two feet of surrounding intestine were removed, left him confident he was free of cancer.

“It had not spread,” he said. “No evidence of anything else. So I am someone who does not have cancer.”

The small scab on the nose left by Tuesday’s procedure was noticed by reporters and photographers today as Reagan addressed a group of evangelical broadcasters and writers at the White House.

Asked about the condition later, Speakes said Reagan had shown the irritation to a physician. “The physician said, ‘Do you want to have it removed?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ The guy came in and removed it,” Speakes said.

In December, 1982, the President’s wife, Nancy, had a small growth removed from her upper lip. It was diagnosed later as a curable form of skin cancer.