Washington, D.C. ? First lady Laura Bush said Tuesday she did not disclose she had a skin cancer tumor removed five weeks ago because, “It’s no big deal and we knew it was no big deal at the time.”

Mrs. Bush’s comments, relayed by presidential spokesman Tony Snow, came a day after the White House belatedly acknowledged she had a squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common form of skin cancer, excised from her right shin a few days after the Nov. 7 election. The troublesome patch was about the size of a nickel, her spokeswoman said.

Unlike her husband, the first lady is not an elected official, Snow said. “She’s got the same right to medical privacy that you do,” he told reporters.

Mrs. Bush’s problem was revealed only after the first lady’s press secretary, Susan Whitson, was asked Monday evening why Mrs. Bush was wearing a bandage on her leg at a Hanukkah ceremony.