Vatican issues Pope Leo health update after surgery amid lung cancer reports

The Vatican has issued a recent update on Pope Leo’s health after he underwent a surgery for long cancer on Tuesday.

As per the latest update, Pope Leo spent a peaceful night at Rome’s Gamelli hospital after successful surgery with no complications. Regarding the updates related to the Pope's health condition, the Vatican decided to release it later in the day.

On Tuesday, the Pope was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma—the most common type of lung cancer, following a surgical procedure to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.

The doctors performed a 90-minute operation to execute a radical removal of the lower lobe of his right lung. They are awaiting lymph nodes and additional test results to determine the exact stage of the cancer along with other details such as its spread, size and number of nodules.

“Adenocarcinoma is the most common (type of lung cancer), also with the most favourable prognosis,” said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“While we know the diagnosis we now need to know the stage.”

“We now need to know how big it is, how many spots in the lung are involved. Is it just one nodule, or more than one, and the lymph nodes, are they cancerous?” Liu said.

No decision on chemotherapy, immunotherapy or targeted therapy has been made yet as doctors have been awaiting complete test results. Experts note an "excellent" prognosis if caught and removed at an early stage.

Pope Leo’s all papal audiences are cancelled through October 20.