Pope Leo XIV says he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodule on his lung - BERITAJA

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV announced Sunday he will acquisition room “in the coming days” to region a nodule connected his lung, successful the first awesome wellness arena of his 17-month pontificate.

The 71-year-old Leo said the nodule was recovered astatine an early shape and was “circumscribed,” aliases well-localized. The Vatican said Leo’s expected betterment clip from room would beryllium a week.

The American pope made the announcement during his Sunday noon blessing. He thanked the crowd for their closeness and entrusted himself to their prayers.

The Vatican didn’t opportunity precisely erstwhile the room would return place, different than successful the early days of this week. Leo has 1 upcoming main event: the closing Mass connected Wednesday of a weeklong convention connected family ministry, but Vatican officials suggested he mightiness miss it.

A nodule could beryllium benign aliases malignant

A lung nodule is simply a mini abnormal area measuring little than an inch that sometimes appears connected a CT scan of the thorax aliases abdomen, according to the American Cancer Society. Often, the scans are done to analyse trauma aliases a lung infection, unrelated to a lung crab screening.

“Lung nodules are reasonably communal and are often benign, but benign and cancerous nodules could person a akin quality connected imaging,” said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung crab master astatine Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“When location is capable concern, and erstwhile it is safe to do truthful based connected the location of the nodule and the wide wellness of the patient, surgical removal could supply a definitive diagnosis,” he said.

If the nodule turns retired to beryllium cancerous, the prognosis is “excellent” since it will person been removed astatine an early shape and room unsocial mightiness beryllium each Leo needs successful position of treatment, Liu said successful an interview.

“It often could beryllium a blessing successful disguise to region that crab earlier it has a chance to turn aliases to spread,” he said.

Leo has nary antecedently known wellness problems and is physically active, pinch play tennis matches and swimming astatine the papal summertime retreat successful Castel Gandolfo.

The pope has a awesome travel planned Nov. 6-17 to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. It’s unclear really aliases whether the planned room and betterment mightiness impact the itinerary, but Leo said earlier successful his remarks Sunday that he still planned to go.

In his remarks, delivered successful Italian, Leo said that during a caller aesculapian check, “doctors recovered a small, localized nodule successful my lung. It was detected astatine a very early shape and is circumscribed. The doctors judge it’s champion to return action, so, pursuing their advice, I person decided to person room to region it.”

He thanked the religious “for your belief support, and I entrust myself to your prayers.”

Surgery to beryllium astatine the pope’s hospital

Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, died April 21, 2025, of a changeable pursuing a agelong hospitalization brought connected by a respiratory situation that developed into double pneumonia. Francis suffered from chronic lung illness and had portion of 1 lung removed arsenic a young man.

Leo is expected to acquisition room astatine Rome’s Gemelli hospital, wherever Francis and popes earlier him were treated and wherever location is simply a typical flat for pontiffs. On Sunday, location was nary evident motion that the pope had already been admitted.

Dr. Dionysis Papadatos-Pastos, an oncologist and lung crab master astatine the London Clinic, stressed that an incidental uncovering of a lung nodule doesn’t mean lung cancer. And successful truth “a well-circumscribed nodule does propose that this is little apt to beryllium cancer.”

But he said crab was imaginable and the main imperative is to investigate. “The worst point you could do is disregard a lung nodule,” he said successful an interview.

Liu, the Georgetown oncologist, said surgical removal successful specified a lawsuit was standard, particularly for personification successful different bully wellness and if the nodule is successful an easy accessible location. A needle biopsy connected a lung nodule could beryllium difficult and whitethorn not supply doctors pinch capable information, he said.

“In these cases, room itself, while it whitethorn look dramatic, is often very safe, very straightforward pinch a accelerated recovery,” he said, adding that Leo should beryllium successful bully style to recreation to Latin America adjacent period barring immoderate complications.

Dr. Massimo Di Maio, president of the Italian Assn. of Medical Oncology, said it will beryllium important to find if the nodule is benign aliases malignant, and if it is malignant, whether it has spread. When the illness is detected astatine an early stage, “the purpose … is curative,” he added.

Depending connected what is found, imaginable treatments could see chemotherapy and radiation therapy, Di Maio told Italy’s backstage Sky TG24.

“When we talk about thing being localized, that could besides mention to the request to found whether the illness is confined to that 1 tract aliases whether scans show signs of illness elsewhere,” he said, emphasizing that he has not treated the pope and was speaking about the illness successful general.

“Being physically fresh and patient is surely an important starting constituent for coping arsenic good arsenic imaginable pinch treatment, including surgery,” he added.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, among the fewer outsiders to sojourn Francis during his agelong last hospitalization, expressed her support and that of the Italian authorities for Leo “as he faces this situation successful the coming days.” In a statement, she added that “the serenity and calm pinch which he said about it” were reassuring.

Winfield and Barry constitute for the Associated Press. Barry reported from Milan. AP writer Danica Kirka contributed from London.