Pope Leo requires no further treatment after lung surgery, doctors say

Pope Leo XIV will not need further treatment following lung cancer surgery, his doctors said Wednesday.

The Vatican’s press office released an update from the pontiff’s doctors, saying final reports and analyses of tissue removed from his surgery were completed Wednesday.

“The results have confirmed that the condition was a pulmonary adenocarcinoma and that the disease was localized,” said his doctors, Dr. Luigi Carbone and Prof. Stefano Margaritora.

“A subsequent oncological evaluation has confirmed that no further therapy is required,” the statement said.

The 71-year-old had surgery earlier this month at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital to remove a lung nodule found during recent routine medical tests. Leo said the nodule was detected “at a very early stage.”

He was discharged on Saturday and returned to his public duties on Sunday with a prayer from the window of the papal apartment at St. Peter’s Basilica.

“This experience has made me feel particularly close to all those who are experiencing illness and a condition of frailty,” he said, thanking well-wishers.

Leo said that “having come through this delicate phase, as you know, I will now gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers.”