Washington, D.C. ? President Bush will have a colonoscopy today and temporarily hand presidential powers to Vice President Dick Cheney, the White House said.

Press secretary Tony Snow told reporters Friday that Bush will have the procedure looking for signs of cancer at his Camp David, Md., mountaintop retreat.

He last had such a colorectal cancer check on June 29, 2002.

“As reported at the time and in subsequent physical exams, absent any symptoms, the president’s doctor recommended repeat surveillance in approximately five years,” said Snow, who currently is undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer. “The president has had no symptoms.”

Two polyps were discovered during examinations in 1998 and 1999, while Bush was governor of Texas. That made Bush a prime candidate for regular examinations. For the general population, a colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer is recommended every 10 years. But for people at higher risk or if a colonoscopy detects precancerous polyps, follow-up colonoscopies often are scheduled in three- to five-year intervals.