By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY — During his first full day back at the Vatican after lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo XIV thanked everyone who prayed for him and said he would “gradually” resume his duties.
“I would like to thank everyone who has prayed for me these past few days. I have truly felt your support,” he said to applause after praying the Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square pm Oct. 18.
“I am especially grateful to the doctors, nurses and all the staff” at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung Oct. 13 after medical tests detected a suspicious growth that was later confirmed to be cancerous.
Speaking in his usual forceful and clear voice, the 71-year-old pope said, “Now that I have gotten through this delicate phase, as you know, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers,” he said to applause.
Pope Leo appeared at the window of the study of the apostolic palace for the traditional Angelus address Oct. 18 after being discharged from the hospital late afternoon Oct. 17.
Dr. Stefano Margaritora, the thoracic surgeon who operated on the pope, said, “It takes a couple of weeks to make a truly complete physical recovery.”
Asked about Pope Leo’s scheduled trans-Atlantic trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru Nov. 6-17, Dr. Margaritora said, “As for a long trip involving air travel to take place in about three weeks, I would say that there are no clinical reasons why it should not take place.”
Pope Leo was hospitalized Oct. 13, when he underwent surgery to remove tissue that was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that develops in glandular cells.
The doctor said the pope’s malignant lung tumor was caught entirely by accident during a routine examination, “as is frequently the situation” in these cases.
During a routine radiological exam of his abdomen, “a small spot” was seen “in the chest at the base of the lung,” he said. “If this small spot had been higher up, it would not have been seen.”
“Unfortunately, lung cancer, especially in its early stages, causes no symptoms as we saw in the Holy Father’s case,” he said.
This just goes to show how important prevention is, the doctor said. Therefore, people, especially those at risk, should undergo regular preventative checkups not only for breast or colon cancers, “but also for lung cancer.”
