July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain said a blemish was removed from his face during a physical examination today.

The mole-like spot was discovered during the Arizona senator's routine three-month examination, which he undergoes because he has a history of skin cancer.

McCain, who had a bandage on the right side of his face, said his doctor said he was ``doing fine. Took a small little nick from my cheek as she does regularly and that will be biopsied just to make sure everything is fine.''

Saying he was ``absolutely'' fine, McCain, 71, urged everyone to wear sunscreen outdoors. ``Melanoma is a preventable occurrence,'' he told reporters before touring an oil field in Bakersfield, California.

A McCain aide at first said the spot was removed as a precaution because of McCain's history of skin cancer and there was no indication of cancer or any health problem. McCain later said the spot would be sent out for biopsy to be sure.

McCain underwent the examination at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

``As a precaution, a biopsy was ordered of a very small area on Senator McCain's right cheek. This is a routine minor procedure,'' clinic spokesman Michael Yardley said in a statement.''

Last May, McCain released 1,173 pages of medical records showing that he suffers from several health concerns common among people his age, yet has a strong heart and no evidence of a recurrence of a potentially deadly skin cancer removed eight years ago.

Surgery in 2000

McCain had surgery in 2000 to remove melanoma on his left temple. In addition to that tumor, doctors excised early-stage melanomas from McCain's left shoulder in 1993, from his left arm in 2000 and from his nose in 2002.

``There was enough there that she has to do a biopsy, so in that sense it's bad,'' said Margaret Kemeny, a cancer specialist and professor of surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York in a telephone interview today. ``It's clear he's prone to getting melanomas.''

The 10-year survival rate for melanoma patients is about 64 percent, according to the Journal of Clinical Oncology. There is nothing McCain can do to prevent a recurrence, which could be fatal because it would signify that the cancer had already spread, Kemeny said in a previous interview in May.

McCain's medical records also showed he was treated for an enlarged prostate, underwent cataract surgery and suffers from arthritis. McCain takes medication for high cholesterol and had early-stage squamous cell cancer and benign growths in his colon removed this year.

Was a Smoker

McCain smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for 25 years, quitting in 1980, according to the records. He currently takes aspirin and vitamins each day, medication to lower his cholesterol, and Claritin as needed for allergies. He has a prescription for a sleeping pill to help him rest while traveling.

McCain, a former Navy fighter pilot in the Vietnam War, has limited motion in his shoulders and arms as a result of trauma when he was shot down over North Vietnam and held as a prisoner- of-war for 5 1/2 years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Bakersfield, California at jsalant@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 28, 2008 18:16 EDT