Pope will not need further cancer treatment, doctors say
Seven Lights
Pope Leo XIV will need no further treatment after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his lung last week, his doctors said, according to a statement released by the Vatican. Examinations of the tissue removed during the operation confirmed that the tumour had not spread, the Guardian reported, and that the disease remained localised, as the initial diagnosis had indicated, the BBC said.
The operation took place on 13 October at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and lasted 90 minutes, including removal of the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung, the BBC reported. The 71-year-old pontiff had been diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, the Guardian said. Final histological examinations and molecular biology analyses of the removed tissue confirmed that diagnosis, according to the statement cited by both outlets.
“A subsequent oncological evaluation has confirmed that no further therapy is required,” the statement said, according to the Guardian, which attributed it to the pope’s lead surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, and his personal physician, Luigi Carbone.
Leo had announced the procedure himself during his weekly Sunday prayers, telling those gathered in St Peter’s Square that doctors had found a nodule on his lung and that it had been caught “at an early stage,” the BBC reported. Images released days after the operation showed the pope celebrating Mass from the hospital, wearing green vestments and standing behind a makeshift altar, the BBC said.
The pope was discharged on Saturday, four days after the operation, stopping to speak to well-wishers as he left the hospital grounds, the BBC and the Guardian reported. On Wednesday he returned to St Peter’s Square for his first weekly general audience since leaving hospital, both outlets said. On the preceding Sunday he told a crowd in the square that he would “gradually resume” his activities and thanked those who had prayed for him, saying the experience had made him feel especially close “to all those who are going through illness or a state of infirmity,” the Guardian reported.
While still in hospital, the pope continued working, including a phone call on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he urged a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, the Guardian said. The Vatican said the call also called for “dialogue and peace” and for food aid to be allowed into the city, the BBC reported, and the pope held a similar call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, the BBC added.
It remains unclear whether Leo will proceed with a planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru scheduled for 6-17 November, the Guardian reported. Margaritora said last week there were “no clinical reasons” preventing the pope from travelling to South America, but the Vatican’s secretary of state indicated that the pontiff may need to adjust the pace of his schedule to aid his recovery, the Guardian said. Those close to the pope have said he is keen not to delay the Latin American trip, planned for early November, the BBC reported.
Leo, who enjoys playing sports including tennis and often makes use of the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, close to Rome, was generally believed to be in good health before the cancer diagnosis, the Guardian said. He became the first US-born leader of the Roman Catholic church in May last year, the Guardian added.