After Pope Leo XIV's diagnosis: What to know about lung nodules

Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he’s set to have surgery within the next few days to remove a lung nodule, marking the pontiff's first significant medical concern since his elevation to the papacy last year.

At his Sunday blessing at St. Peter’s Square, the American pope said "doctors found a circumscribed nodule in my lung" while conducting a health evaluation.

"It was detected at a very early stage and is well-localized," Leo, 71, told thousands of the faithful. "The doctors believe it’s best to take action, so following their advice, I have decided to have surgery to remove it."

Here are some questions and answers about lung nodules.

What is a lung nodule?

A lung nodule is a small lesion that is less than 3 centimeters, according to physicians. They are extremely common and often appear during an X-ray, a CT scan, or during lung cancer screenings for people who have smoked.

"It's like a little bead in the lung, and millions of people walk with the nodules. They can be benign. They may represent something more serious, and we don't know unless we actively try to find out what it is," said Dr. David Zeltsman, chief of thoracic surgery at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

Physicians said many lung nodules often turn out to be noncancerous and can be caused by several factors, including old infections and autoimmune disease.

"There are many things that can cause nodules in the lung, but it's all about how suspicious they appear," said Dr. Abbas E. Abbas, system chair of thoracic surgery at Catholic Health.

How is a lung nodule treated?

When doctors find a nodule, they may monitor the lesion. They also may decide to do a biopsy or surgery.

In instances when surgery is chosen, the procedure is often performed using minimally invasive techniques like robotic assistance or video-assisted thoracic surgery.

Often during the procedure, doctors can remove the nodule and test it to see whether it is cancerous. Clinicians said the surgery can sometimes continue and expand if the test is positive, or conclude if the result is benign.

"Most patients can tolerate this operation very well and return to normal activity in a short period of time," Abbas said in a phone interview with Newsday.

Why is early detection crucial?

No matter the results, physicians said the key to dealing with a lung nodule is early detection. If lung cancer is detected early, they said, the disease is very curable.

"If your doctor has advised you to get a scan or to do further follow-up for a lung nodule, please take it seriously and follow up on it," Abbas said. "Because the key here is hopefully, and we're all of course praying for the pope, that ... this is early. And really the key to curing lung cancer is to catch it early."

With AP

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.