Pope will not need further cancer treatment, doctors say

Pope Leo will not need any further ⁠treatment after undergoing lung cancer surgery last week, his doctors said, indicating ⁠that his tumour had ⁠not ​spread.

The ⁠71-year-old pontiff had the lower lobe of his ​right lung removed on 13 October and was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most ‌common form of lung cancer.

Final histological examinations and molecular biology analyses of the tissue removed confirmed the diagnosis, with the disease remaining localised, the doctors said in a statement released by the Vatican.

“A subsequent ‌oncological evaluation has confirmed that no further therapy is required,” the pope’s lead surgeon, ​Stefano Margaritora, and his personal physician, Luigi Carbone, said.

However, it was still unclear whether the pope would ⁠proceed with a planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, scheduled for 6-17 November.

Leo was discharged from hospital on Saturday and is gradually resuming his normal duties. On Wednesday, he returned to ⁠St Peter’s Square for his weekly audience with ​pilgrims.

The pope had been working from hospital, including making a phone call last Friday to Vladimir Putin, during which he urged the Russian president to call a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky.

Last Sunday, the pontiff told a crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square that he would “gradually resume” his activities.

He also thanked those who had prayed for him, saying that he appreciated the support while adding that the experience had made him feel especially close “to all those who are going through illness or a state of infirmity”.

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.

Before the cancer diagnosis, Leo, who enjoys playing sports including tennis, was generally believed to be in good health. He often makes use of the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, close to Rome.

In May last year, Leo became the first US-born leader of the Roman Catholic church.