Pope Leo XIV recovering after lung cancer surgery, Latin America trip in doubt Pope Leo XIV is eating, walking and celebrating Mass after surgery to remove a cancerous lobe of his right lung, the Vatican says, while Peru's president suggests his November trip to Latin America could change. The Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer and that the lower lobe of his right lung was removed during surgery on Tuesday. Pope Leo XIV Recovering Well After SurgeryThe 71-year-old pontiff is recovering at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he spent a peaceful night after the operation. On Wednesday afternoon, Leo celebrated Mass in a special room set up for him at the hospital, together with his secretaries. Doctors say he is eating regularly, has begun walking and is doing respiratory exercises. His post-operative blood tests and a chest X-ray are normal.Dr. Luigi Carbone and Dr. Stefano Margaritora, a thoracic surgeon, said the recovery was proceeding as planned. The Holy Father underwent respiratory physiotherapy and has begun walking in his room. He resumed his regular diet and had breakfast and lunch, they reported. Recovery is proceeding as planned.Tuesday's surgery confirmed that Leo has lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. The right lung has three lobes and the left has two. After one lobe is removed, the remaining lung tissue can gradually compensate, especially in otherwise healthy, physically active people.Leo is known for his interest in sports, including weekly tennis games and swimming. Experts said some of his lymph nodes would also have been removed and tested to determine whether the cancer had spread. Those results have not so far been made public. If the cancer has spread, tests will determine what kind of therapy to pursue, said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.Medical Experts Discuss Treatment OptionsOptions include chemotherapy, a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy or targeted therapy, which involves pills for specific cancers. Liu, who is not involved in the Pope's care, said adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer and also has the most favorable prognosis. While we know the diagnosis, we now need to know the stage, Liu said. We now need to know how big it is, how many spots in the lung are involved.Is it just one nodule, or more than one, and the lymph nodes, are they cancerous? Dr. PierCarlo Gentile, head of radiation oncology at the San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome, said the kind of video-assisted minimally invasive chest surgery the Pope underwent could allow him to be back on his feet within 48 to 72 hours. Recovery from the surgery itself takes 15 to 20 days. Post-op complications, including infections, are rare, he said.Vatican Maintains Plans for South America TripThe Vatican has so far announced no changes to Leo's planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru on Nov. 6-17. But Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori said Wednesday that his diagnosis and recovery could affect the visit, even as she expressed hope it would go ahead. Leo spent two decades as a missionary in Peru, holds Peruvian citizenship and is beloved by his flock there. We understand that this recovery will take several weeks, longer than expected, Fujimori told reporters.We also understand that there could be some changes to the schedule of his visit. The ambitious itinerary for the longest trip of his papacy covers just over 31,000 kilometres (19,000 miles), with a dozen flights and two helicopter rides across the three countries, as well as a significant change in altitude in Peru. Fujimori said millions of Peruvians were praying for the pontiff's recovery and awaiting further announcements from the Vatican.We hope his recovery will be swift and that his visit can go ahead, but we will also understand if that is not possible, she said. What matters most is that His Holiness regains his health. Oncology surgeons often advise patients not to fly for three weeks after surgery. If it is Stage 1, he can complete these trips.Transparency Marks New Approach to HealthIf more treatment is needed, I would likely advise against the trips, said Liu. The pontiff has offered a rare degree of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy. He revealed the discovery of a nodule, or growth, on his lung during his Sunday noon prayer, announcing it on live television almost as an aside at the end of his blessing. But Leo did not disclose everything he knew Sunday.Tuesday's medical bulletin said preoperative tests had led doctors to suspect cancer, which surgery confirmed. Leo did not use the word cancer in his announcement, though he described the nodule as being at an early stage. The Vatican has now said that those tests included a robotic bronchoscopic biopsy, meaning doctors had already taken tissue samples to assess whether the mass was cancerous.The procedure requires general anesthesia and must be performed in a hospital equipped with one of the advanced machines, said Dr. Lorenzo Spaggiari, chief thoracic surgeon at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. He said Gemelli hospital had had one for about a year. The Vatican did not say when Leo underwent the diagnostic tests, which also included a chest CT scan with contrast and a PET scan.New Communication Style for Papal HealthThe Vatican has long been secretive about the health of popes and tightly controlled any such information, a practice encapsulated in the popular Italian saying, The pope is fine. Wednesday's announcement offered further evidence that this Pope is taking a new approach to communicating about his health. His doctors say Leo's recovery is proceeding as planned.