Pope begins lengthy trip to Latin America weeks after lung cancer surgery
Pope Leo XIV is beginning a lengthy trip to Latin America just three weeks after surgery for lung cancer - a tour that includes a much-anticipated "homecoming" to Peru where he was a priest for many years. The Vatican says no extraordinary measures are being taken in relation to the Pope's health, describing him as a "71-year-old who has undergone an operation" not someone with a "permanent medical condition". It was Leo himself who revealed last month that doctors had discovered a tumour during a routine scan. The growth was removed along with the lower lobe of his right lung and his medical team then confirmed the cancer had not spread.
