Pope has surgery for lung cancer

Nick Miles (0:00)

This is The Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Miles, and in the early hours of Wednesday, the 14th of October, these are our main stories. The Vatican says Pope Leo has been treated for lung cancer following an operation to remove a tumor. More than three decades after the death of the hip hop star Tupac Shakur, a former gang leader has been jailed for 40 years for orchestrating the murder. And we speak to the makers of a hugely controversial film, about the Israeli military's campaign in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people.

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Nick Miles (0:53)

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We start the programme with the news that Pope Leo has undergone an operation to remove what has now been revealed as a small cancerous tumour on his right lung. The Vatican said the procedure, which involved part of the lung being cut away, was successful with no complications. A spokesperson said that after the operation, the Pope awoke normally and returned after a brief period of observation to his room. The Pope had announced on Sunday that this operation was imminent. I heard more from our correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, who's in the Vatican.

Sarah Rainsford (1:37)

Reading back between the lines of what he said at the time, it's clear that tests have been done and that he knew what he was going in for. Of course, nobody else knew the full picture, which we now have. We've heard just recently from the Vatican in a briefing to explain the statement that they put out, and that is to say that doctors did confirm that the lump that was found on the Pope's right lung was cancerous. They said it was removed, that went well, but they also said, as expected, they had to remove a fairly large section of the Pope's lung, the entire lower lobe of his right lung. They said that was, in their words, to make the procedure more radical, but when I asked what that meant, it was essentially to ensure that nothing malignant was left behind. So I think a serious operation. It took 90 minutes. The Pope was in there for 3 hours in total in the operating theatre. He's now back in his room in the hospital. We're told he's awake and we've even been told he's asking for his dinner. So he seems to be in relatively normal spirits, considering the ordeal that he's been through.

Nick Miles (2:33)

And Sarah, what do we know about any further treatment or testing going forward?

Sarah Rainsford (2:37)

I asked that of the Vatican, the spokesperson who we were just briefed by, and he said that's not in the statement at the moment. We don't know.

Normally, when a tumour like this is found and removed, there would be further tests done of the lymph nodes, for example, to see whether the cancer might have spread. When I mentioned that, the Vatican referred me to the Pope's own words, which were to say that the nodulis, he described it at that point, was localised and had been caught early. So I think we'll have to wait and see in terms of further testing. In terms of further treatment, again, we asked would there be chemotherapy? Did we know what was going to happen? And we were told they don't have the answers at this point from the doctors. So I think we'll just have to wait for an update from them. Certainly, I think, for Catholics all over the world and here in Rome, where people have been at the hospital praying today for the Pope's health, I think this is worrying news.

Nick Miles (3:25)

Yeah, you mentioned that. The nature of the papacy is that the Popes tend to be relatively elderly, so people expect health conditions to appear during a papacy, but nevertheless a shock for Catholics around the world and a worry.

Sarah Rainsford (3:39)

Yeah, I think so, because particularly this is a relatively young Pope. He's only 71 and this is the very beginning of his papacy. So I think it's worth remembering what it was like here a year and a half ago when he was elected. People remembering the long illnesses of Pope Francis and then Pope Benedict before him and of course Pope John Paul II before that, who all suffered serious ailments. Of course Benedict himself stood down as Pope because of his illness. So when Pope Leo was elected at the Conclave, there was quite a lot of talk about, well, he's a young Pope and he's a healthy man. He plays tennis a lot. He goes to the gym. He's fit. They expected this to be the story of the papacy. Now that has changed, I think, today, although, as I say, that Vatican is stressing that the operation was successful. And at this point, we don't have any suggestion that the cancer has spread. So people are concerned. I spoke to a lady up at the Gemelli Hospital today. She said, oh, we thought that this was a young and energetic Pope. Now we see he's vulnerable. And she said she felt awful when she first heard the news that the Pope was having the operation. So I think she'll be even more worried tonight.