While Pope Leo's lung cancer diagnosis may have come as a shock to Catholics this week, the prognosis is likely a lot less scary.
The cancer, adenocarcinoma, is a common one, and while worrisome if caught late, has a track record of high rates of survival with early intervention.
"The fact that surgery was the first tool that they utilized is a really good sign," says Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and board member of the American Lung Association. "It suggests that they think this is early stage."
Leo underwent surgery in Rome on Tuesday, which he announced over the weekend. But while he mentioned a "nodule" would be the target, the 90-minute operation resulted in a larger part of his right lung being removed. Still, Gupta says that isn't inherently a bad sign.
"People have parts of their lungs removed all the time for all sorts of reasons, and they recover just fine," says Gupta. "And in his case, he's pretty robust at baseline from a health standpoint."
At 71, Leo still exercises regularly, including a weekly tennis game, which will help with his road to recovery.
"He had a minimally invasive surgery," says Dr. Jonathan Villena Vargas, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. "When we do this, because we do this all the time, most patients are allowed to travel about two weeks after the surgery."
That outlook bodes well for the pope's calendar, which has only been cleared of events until Oct. 20. After that, barring any updates from the Vatican, he's expected to travel to South America in November, visiting a number of countries including Peru, where he lived for decades.
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