Pope Leo needs no further treatment after lung cancer surgery
Tests confirmed the tumour removed from the 71-year-old pontiff's lung was localised, the Vatican said, as he resumed his weekly general audience.
Pope Leo XIV does not need any further treatment after an operation to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, his doctors said on Wednesday. Tests on the tissue removed during surgery confirmed a lung adenocarcinoma, as first diagnosed, and showed that the disease was localised. "A subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is necessary," the Vatican said.
The 90-minute operation at Rome's Gemelli Hospital took place on 13 October and included the removal of the lower lobe of the Pope's right lung. The 71-year-old pontiff had announced the procedure himself during his Sunday prayers, telling the faithful that doctors had found a nodule caught "at an early stage". He was discharged four days after surgery and stopped to greet well-wishers as he left.
On Wednesday he held his first weekly general audience in St Peter's Square since leaving hospital. While recovering, he had celebrated Mass in the hospital and spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky so food aid could be delivered, and with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
People close to the Pope have said he is keen not to delay a trip to Latin America planned for early November.