By Cris Barrish and Jonathan Starkey

The News Journal

Dr. W.K. Alfred Yung released a statement saying a Texas hospital team "saw Beau Biden to remove a small lesion" on Aug. 20.



Dr. Yung conducted a follow-up exam in November and gave Biden %22a clean bill of health."

Attorney General Beau Biden has made few public appearances since being hospitalized at a Texas cancer center in August. So when he took his place in the audience for Gov. Jack Markell's State of the State speech last month, many people attending got their first look at him in months.

What they saw was a rail-thin man with a long, curving scar on the side of his head, visible because Biden – known for Kennedyesque hair parted on the side and carefully combed – now has a flat-top style with the sides shaved.

"He looks worn and drawn, much more than he did in November," said Republican state Sen. Greg Lavelle, who last encountered Biden at a Veterans Day function. "He looks like he's getting medical treatment for something. Everybody thinks there's something wrong with him, clearly."

Since his hospitalization, the second-term attorney general and those in his inner circle, including his father, Vice President Joe Biden, have steadfastly refused to discuss his medical condition.

But on Friday, a doctor on Beau Biden's medical team released a statement saying the attorney general had surgery to remove a "small lesion" on August 20 and now has "a clean bill of health."

Delaware House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf said he has seen Biden a handful of times since he sought care at three hospitals in three states within a week in August, including the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

"He looks a little gaunt or a little like he could put a little weight on, but I do think he is fine," Schwartzkopf said.

Many said Biden's silence about his personal health issues is understandable. But his visible weight loss, head scar, buzz cut and low public profile have only fueled speculation that he has been undergoing some medical treatment.

Delaware Treasurer Chip Flowers, who sat next to Biden during Markell's State of the State speech last month, said Delaware voters would not think less of Biden if he revealed his medical condition or any treatment he has undergone.

"I don't think they would hold it against him,'' Flowers said. "With 99 percent of the voting public, I think the fundamental question people are going to ask themselves is, "Is he still capable of doing this job?' "

One of Biden's doctors revealed a few more details Friday after The News Journal made repeated requests for more information about Biden's health. Dr. W.K. Alfred Yung, a professor and chair of MD Anderson's Department of Neuro-Oncology, released a statement saying a hospital team "saw Beau Biden to remove a small lesion" on Aug. 20.

"The procedure went flawlessly and the entire lesion was removed. He was discharged 36 hours later, with no restrictions on his activities," Yung's statement read. "On September 4th, 2013, Mr. Biden resumed his normal schedule. On November 11th, 2013, I conducted a follow-up exam and was very pleased to give Mr. Biden a clean bill of health."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, a lesion is an "abnormal change in the structure of an organ, due to injury or disease.

Dr. Yung, the hospital and Biden's office would provide no other information, including more description of the lesion, what his prognosis is, and whether he will be under continued supervision or require additional treatment.

Since his hospitalization, Biden has declined more than a dozen interview requests, not only about his health but also about his political future and criminal justice matters.

He was characteristically evasive when approached Wednesday at Legislative Hall in Dover, where he was looking for lawmakers to discuss his office budget. As he has done in brief exchanges with reporters in recent months, Biden said doctors have given him a clean bill of health, but would not discuss details.

"I told you, I'm all good. I got very lucky," Biden said. "I'm seeing my doctors every now and then, but it's all good. I'm doing my job. And I've been doing that."

Despite observations that he has appeared frail in recent months, Biden said he has actually been gaining weight and taking regular four-mile runs.

He only spoke for a few minutes, just as he has in two other interviews when asked about his health.

The questions come at a critical time in Biden's political career. Biden, who has made a name for himself nationally as a proud ambassador for his father and Obama administration policies, has amassed more than $1 million in campaign cash. He is up for re-election this year and is considered a contender for the 2016 race for governor.

"I have options going forward," Biden said last week. "There are a lot of options."

Biden considered a 2010 run for the U.S. Senate seat held by his father for 36 years, but opted out of that race to seek a second term as attorney general, which he won without Republican opposition after suffering what doctors called a "mild stroke" six months before that election.

Health problems

Biden's health has been a lingering issue since 2010, when he was rushed to the hospital after being overcome by a headache, numbness and some paralysis. He returned home after a week, issuing a news release declaring: "I'm feeling great, and the doctor said my last exam was 'perfect.'" His doctor described his neurological status at the time as "perfect in all arenas including motor skills, language function, and cognitive assessment."

Though a book published last fall said the situation was a lot worse, with Biden suffering partial paralysis for months from the "life-threatening" stroke, Biden disputed the claim. "You guys saw me walk out of the hospital in 2010," he said.

Over the next three years Biden said often that he had no lingering effects from the stroke. But about 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 1, rescue crews were sent to Joe Biden's house in Greenville to respond to a 911 call about someone suffering a "possible stroke."

Beau Biden was living then at his father's home off Barley Mill Road while renovating a nearby home he bought on Hillside Road. While the Bidens have not revealed who fell ill that night, sources have confirmed it was Beau Biden. The call for the ambulance was canceled soon after crews were dispatched.

Thirteen days later while vacationing in Indiana, Biden checked into Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after feeling "weak and disoriented." He next went to Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University Hospital before flying to Houston's MD Anderson on Aug. 19, where he stayed for several days meeting with doctors, undergoing tests and completing what his father said was a "successful procedure."

Vice President Biden and his wife flew to Houston with their son and his wife on Air Force II to stay during his visit.

'Been through hell'

The first time many supporters saw Biden was at a Sept. 27 fundraiser at his father's Greenville home.

"He looked a little bit like he had been through hell and was now at the end of the tunnel coming out of it," said philanthropist Tatiana Copeland, noting his weight loss. "I think everybody was concerned and everybody was hoping he was well."

Lobbyist Robert L. Byrd thought otherwise. "He seemed fine," Byrd said. "He said a few words and thanked everybody for coming. He mingled. It wasn't like he ducked or anything."

For such a prominent politician, Biden hasn't been making many public appearances in the months that followed his visit to MD Anderson.

Asked to provide a list of his public appearances, his office noted 13 events, saying it was not a complete list. They included a state lawmaker's community meeting in New Castle, a housing workshop and five trips to the William "Hicks" Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, where he led a senior staff meeting Tuesday. His staff has posted some photos of him making the visits on the office website.

Not on the list were meetings with other public officials, such as a session in January with Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams about a new crime-fighting strategy, and a recent meeting with police and prosecutors over a task force targeting violent criminals. Except for the few times he's been at Legislative Hall, those events were not open to reporters.

Biden filmed a video interview with The News Journal on Sept. 10, and showed no signs of weight loss. He sported his customary full head of hair without any signs of the large scar that now is apparent, stretching from the front of his ear, rising up the side and curving sharply around toward the top of his hairline.

The scar and newly shaved side of his head were apparent when Biden met in November with state budget officials in Dover. He also appeared somewhat thinner.

When approached by reporters after the budget hearing, Biden again mentioned his "clean bill of health" and described himself as "very, very lucky."

Schwartzkopf said Biden told him he got the buzz cut in preparation for duty with the Delaware National Guard and decided to keep it because "his kids love it."

Recent appearances

Questions about Biden's health and his August surgery haven't gone away.

"Everybody is asking the questions, but whatever it is they are very guarded," Byrd said of the Biden camp.

"I don't know whether that is good, bad or indifferent. But it's on everybody's mind. It's not on our minds in a political way, but because Beau is a pretty well-liked guy and there's a lot of legitimate concern for him."

One prominent donor who requested anonymity is concerned that the attorney general is "noticeably defensive" on the topic. "He's very serious and a good man," the donor said. "But personally, I think he has very serious health issues. I literally pray that he is all right."

Copeland, who donated $10,000 to Biden last year, was his father's guest this month at a luncheon in Washington honoring French president Francois Hollande. She said she used the opportunity to ask the vice president about his son's health.

"I heardthe same thing they tell everybody," Copeland said. "That he's doing very well."

Georgetown police chief William S. Topping, chairman of the Delaware Police Chiefs' Council, said Biden attended a council meeting this month and spoke to several cops about legislation and other justice issues.

"He seemed fine to me," Topping said, "He was engaging and he was on point."

Also this month, Biden visited Wilmington's West End Neighborhood House, a nonprofit agency that provides services such as job training for low-income residents. He met with three groups of 10 to 15 people, executive director Paul Calistro said.

"He looked healthy and energetic. He was thoughtful. And if he wasn't, I would tell you that," Calistro said. "I really was impressed because I hadn't seen Beau for a while. He was bubbly. He was funny. He was sharp. He was crisp."

New Castle County police chief Elmer Setting, who saw Biden the same week, agreed. "He looks fantastic. The guy has rallied. He's healthy and aware and doing his job."

Lavelle, the Republican state senator, urged Biden to end the mystery and speculation about his medical condition.

"It's important to the state," the lawmaker said. "He should be able to talk about whatever is going on. It doesn't have to be in great detail, but it is in the public interest."

Contact senior reporter Cris Barrish at 324-2785, cbarrish@delawareonline.com or on Facebook. Contact Jonathan Starkey at 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or jstarkey@delawareonline.com.