Bush's Colon Is Cancer-Free

Doctors found no cancer in the five small growths removed from President Bush's colon, the White House said Monday.

The growths, called polyps, were found during a routine cancer scan that Mr. Bush underwent Saturday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. Examinations showed the growths were benign — in line with the White House's expectation that none of the five polyps appeared "worrisome."

"The president is in good health," Bush spokesman Tony Snow said. "There is no reason for alarm."

Doctors discovered that Mr. Bush had two polyps during a similar scan in 1998, and two more were found during a colon screening in 1999, while Mr. Bush was governor of Texas. That made the 61-year-old president a prime candidate for regular examinations. The screening done in 2002 revealed no polyps or abnormalities.

Mr. Bush's next cancer scan will be in three years, his press secretary added, saying that is the typical interval between exams given the amount of growths found this time.

Polyps are extra pieces of tissues that grow inside the large intestine. Most polyps are not dangerous, but over time, they can turn cancerous. To be safe, doctors typically remove the polyps and test them. Finding them early is considered one of the best ways of preventing disease.

Mr. Bush regularly exercises and is considered to be in excellent shape for a man his age.

During the colonoscopy, Mr. Bush temporarily transferred the powers of his office to Vice President Dick Cheney under the rarely invoked 25th Amendment.

Mr. Bush invoked the presidential disability clause of the Constitution at 7:16 a.m. EDT. He transferred his authority to Cheney, who was at his home on the Chesapeake Bay in St. Michaels, Md., about 45 miles east of Washington.

Nothing occurred during the 2 hours and 5 minutes of the transfer that required Cheney to take official action.

The amendment, approved in 1967, four years after President Kennedy was assassinated, provides for the temporary or permanent transfer of presidential power in case the president is unable to fulfill the duties of the office.

It had been used only twice before.

In July 1985, President Reagan had colon cancer surgery and turned over power to his vice president, George H.W. Bush. During the president's colorectal screening on July 29, 2002, Bush relinquished powers to Cheney for more than two hours.

This transfer of power took place with letters Bush faxed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., president pro tempore of the Senate. Bush reclaimed his authority at 9:21 a.m. EDT with follow-up letters to both lawmakers.

"This letter shall constitute my written declaration that I am presently able to resume the discharge of the Constitutional powers and duties of the office of the president of the United States," Bush's one-paragraph letter said.