Pope Leo delivered his weekly address on Wednesday as he gradually resumes normal duties. Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty ImagesPope Leo delivered his weekly address on Wednesday as he gradually resumes normal duties. Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty ImagesPope will not need further cancer treatment, doctors sayMedics indicate pontiff’s tumour had not spread, but doubts remain about planned trip to South America next month
Pope Leo will not need any further therapy after undergoing lung cancer surgery last week, his doctors said on Wednesday, indicating that his tumour had not spread.
However, it was still unclear whether the US-born pope would proceed with a planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, scheduled for 6-17 November.
Pope Leo lung cancer surgery: what kind of operation did he have and what happens next?Read moreThe 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.
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.
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.
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