Gilberto Lopes, Chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, shared on LinkedIn:
“Lung cancer can affect anyone. No one deserves to be blamed for developing it.
I joined Local 10 News in Miami to discuss Pope Leo XIV’s confirmed diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, his recent surgery, and the broader lessons for lung cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Smoking is the most important preventable risk factor, but approximately 10-20% of lung cancers occur in people who have never smoked.
The good news is that we have made extraordinary progress. Low-dose CT screening can detect lung cancer earlier in people at high risk, when treatment is more likely to be curative. Advances in surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted treatments have transformed outcomes for many patients.
But we still have work to do.
We need to replace stigma with compassion, fear with knowledge, and late diagnosis with opportunities for early detection.
Wishing Pope Leo XIV a full recovery, and hoping his experience encourages more conversations about lung cancer prevention and early detection.
Watch our Local 10 discussion.”
You can also read: Pope Leo XIV Lung Cancer Diagnosis: Surgery, Prognosis and Survival Rates.
