Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Bernie Sanders’ office says the Vermont senator had a small basal cell carcinoma removed from his cheek in an outpatient procedure.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer, a form that is slow-growing and highly curable.

Sanders’ office says the hour-long procedure was completed Thursday and the senator returned to work afterward. He later returned to Vermont.

The senator competed for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton.