Pope Leo is back on his feet after lung surgery and cancer diagnosis

Tuesday's surgery confirmed that the 71-year-old pontiff has the most common type of lung cancer, known as lung adenocarcinoma

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Pope Leo XIV has resumed eating normally, started walking, and begun respiratory exercises after surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his lung, according to the Vatican.

"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 operation determined that the American pope has lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. While specialists noted that additional testing is required to determine whether the disease has spread or demands further treatment, those diagnostic results were not ready on Wednesday.

Vatican officials previously confirmed the 90-minute operation was successful and without complications. Doctors are waiting for full test results before deciding on a subsequent treatment path. The Vatican press office pointed to the medical report's mention of a "radical" removal of the lobe, indicating surgeons extracted all suspicious tissue to eliminate remaining traces of the disease.

Anatomy of the lungs consists of three lobes on the right side and two on the left. Following the removal of a single lobe, the remaining lung tissue can gradually adapt, particularly in patients who maintain active lifestyles. Leo is known for his physical fitness, engaging in weekly tennis matches and regular swimming.

Should testing reveal the cancer has spread, the findings will guide the choice of therapy, according to Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer specialist at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center who is not involved in the pope's care. Treatment options include standard chemotherapy, a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, or targeted therapy using daily pills designed for specific cancer profiles.

"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 Rome’s San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital, indicated that the video-assisted minimally invasive chest surgery performed on the pope typically allows patients to resume walking within 48 to 72 hours. Complete surgical recovery generally takes 15 to 20 days, while post-operative issues like infections are uncommon.

This level of disclosure breaks with a historical tradition of papal privacy regarding illness. Leo first disclosed the existence of the lung growth during his live Sunday address, sharing the news with viewers at the conclusion of his blessing.

Historically, the Vatican maintained strict silence on papal health matters, reflected in the traditional Italian saying: "The pope is fine until he’s dead." St. John XXIII’s stomach cancer was kept secret until his death in 1963, and St. John Paul II’s struggle with Parkinson's disease was formally acknowledged only after he died in 2005. Pope Francis was more open, granting an interview to an Argentine doctor for a book on his health, though information remained closely guarded during his final months.