Vatican says Pope Leo XIV has lung cancer after surgery

Pope Leo XIV has lung cancer, the Vatican said Tuesday. During surgery at Rome's Gemelli hospital, doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung, and a medical bulletin confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of the disease. It is the first major health problem the Vatican has made public in the 71-year-old American pontiff's 17-month papacy. He is expected to stay in hospital for about a week.reuters+1

What the bulletin said

The Holy See Press Office released the statement from the pope's personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and Prof. Stefano Margaritora, Gemelli's chief thoracic surgeon. It said "the intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected by the preoperative tests". Leo spent about three hours in the operating room, and the surgery itself took about 90 minutes. "The surgery was successful, and there were no complications," the bulletin said. According to Reuters, the pope woke up normally and is resting in his room.abcnews+2

Earlier in the evening, the Vatican had said only that the operation was completed "within the expected timeframe and as planned". Leo had walked in through the hospital's main entrance shortly after 1 p.m. and waved to well-wishers. While he was in surgery, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar of Rome, led a Rosary in the hospital chapel.apnews+3

An early catch

Leo first spoke about the nodule during his Sunday Angelus prayer on Oct. 11. He said doctors had found it "at a very early stage" during routine checks and that it was "well localized". On Monday, the Vatican canceled all his audiences through Oct. 20.apnews+2

Before the operation, oncologists said his prognosis would be "excellent" if the growth turned out to be cancer, because it was being removed early. Dr. Lorenzo Spaggiari, director of thoracic surgery at Milan's European Institute of Oncology, told the AP that surgeons would also remove nearby lymph nodes. "If all those lymph nodes turn out to be negative, so stage one, then the outlook is very good," he said, adding that no further treatment would then be needed. The Vatican's bulletin did not say what stage the cancer is.bostonherald+1

Travel plans in question

Leo is scheduled to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov. 6 to 17. It would be the longest trip of his papacy: just over 31,000 kilometers on a dozen flights. Spaggiari's institute advises patients not to fly for three weeks after this kind of surgery, which would leave the pope just enough time to make the trip if he recovers as hoped.apnews

Tokyo Cardinal Kikuchi Tsutomu, who saw the pope on Monday, said Leo had chosen to have the operation soon "in order to not change his plans for future overseas trips." He added, "there is no need to worry, as it is not an emergency".apnews