The nation had its first woman president on Friday, albeit for just a short while, while President Joe Biden visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Friday for a colonoscopy and routine physical.

In a message distributed to the press corps Friday morning ahead of the procedure, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Vice President Kamala Harris would have the powers of the presidency transferred to her for a “brief period of time” as Biden goes undergoes the procedure.

“As was the case when President George W. Bush had the same procedure in 2002 and 2007, and following the process set out in the Constitution, President Biden will transfer power to the Vice President for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia. The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” Psaki said early Friday.

When the procedure concluded, Biden notified Senator Patrick Leahy, the President pro tempore that he was back in the saddle and ready to discharge his duties. A similar letter was also sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The White House is expected to release a written statement summarizing Biden’s physical later Friday.

Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who at the time of his inauguration was the oldest president to ever assume office, had a checkered past in terms of making his medical records public. Before being elected, Trump did not release medical records but rather a letter from his doctor saying that he was in “excellent physical health.” It was not until 2018 that Trump had his first presidential health examination, also at Walter Reed in Bethesda, Maryland.

Trump had a few more physical exams during his term, and despite recommendations that he lose weight—he was technically obese and had “bad” cholesterol—he failed to follow doctor’s orders for more exercise and a cleaner diet. Last October, after the 45th president contracted COVID-19, he was hospitalized with extremely low oxygen levels, fever, and congestion.

Then White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany spun his prognosis as “mild,” as did Trump’s physician Dr. Sean Conley, who refused to answer questions about whether there was damage to Trump’s lung tissue or signs of pneumonia related to coronavirus. A bevy of sources who spoke to The New York Times in February painted a far bleaker picture of Trump’s condition.

Biden, who turns 79 this weekend, last released a summary of his health in 2019. The assessment was done by Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s long-time primary care doctor who also served as the director of executive medicine at George Washington Medical Faculty Associates.

O’Connor said Biden was “healthy” and “vigorous” for his then-77 years, though he was being treated for an irregular heartbeat, despite showing no symptoms. Biden also took a prescription drug to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, medication for heartburn, and a preventive pill for blood clots. He has no known medical allergies.

Biden had one brain aneurysm in the late 1980s, had his gallbladder removed in 2003, and has undergone surgical removal of non-melanoma skin cancer lesions. Biden said the lesions were likely due to his time spent in the sun as a lifeguard years before. 

The president injured his foot playing with his dog last November, but a check-up in February determined the fracture had fully healed.

As for Biden’s colonoscopy on Friday, the procedure is of critical importance.

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. In 2021 alone, 104,270 new cases of colon cancer were identified and 45,230 new cases of rectal cancer. The lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about 1 in 23 for men and about 1 in 25 for women.

In America, colorectal cancer is not only the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women, but it is the second-most common cause of cancer death when men and women are combined. The American Cancer Society predicts that in 2021, colorectal cancer will have caused about 52,980 deaths.

Biden is not overweight or obese and keeps fairly active, two elements key in preventing colorectal cancer.

Though getting a colonoscopy can be somewhat anxiety-inducing given the preparation that goes into it, things have changed dramatically in recent years, making the process less harrowing and well worth the rewards of staying healthy and cancer-free.