Pope Leo XIV’s recent cancer diagnosis has sparked major concern, as reports of his diagnosis are devastating.
For those unaware, the head of the Catholic Church was diagnosed with lung cancer when he underwent lung surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.
He is suffering from lung adenocarcinoma – the most common type of lung cancer, which is more treatable when caught early; however, the stage of his disease has yet not been revealed.
According to Radar Online, doctors fear that the deadly disease may have already metastasized to other parts of his body and he may be dead by Christmas of this year.
While shedding light on the situation in a talk with the same outlet, Dr. Stuart Fischer stated that Pope Leo might have a genetic predisposition to cancer, as his mother, Mildred Martinez, succumbed to the insidious disease at the age of 78 in 1990, while his 74-year-old brother, Louis Prevost, is reportedly battling multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood plasma cells, and is admitted to a hospital in Florida.
Fischer, who has not treated Pope Leo, said, “Let’s hope that he has the strength, courage, and support to make it through to Christmas and long afterwards. When a cancer is large enough to be seen in scans, it means that it has spread to other parts of the body and metastasized.”
“The lung filters all the blood of the body every five minutes, so that means cancer cells are going from his lungs and circulating throughout his body. Hopefully, his body can recognize the invasive cells, and his immune system will eat up the cancerous cells,” he explained.
It is pertinent to mention that Pope Leo XIV, Chicago-born sovereign of Vatican City, was diagnosed with lung cancer just 17 months after making history by becoming the first American pope in May 2025.
