{
  "id": 13942290,
  "title": "Pope Leo sticks to busy schedule before surgery to remove lung nodule",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/pope-leo-sticks-to-busy-schedule-before-surgery-to-remove-lung-nodule-13942290",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-12T10:15:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/12/pope-leo-sticks-to-busy-schedule-before-surgery-to-remove-lung-nodule"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Vatican City - Pope Leo, the head of the 1.4-billion-member Church, continues to follow his regular busy schedule despite preparations for a surgical procedure to remove a small growth on one of his lungs. On Monday, the 71-year-old pontiff held seven meetings he had previously scheduled, as reported by the Vatican press office.\n\nThe growth, referred to as a nodule, was detected during a recent check-up and has been deemed well-contained at an early stage. Pope Leo, elected to his position by the world's cardinals in May 2025, stated that he would undergo the surgery this week. The Vatican has not disclosed the exact date of the surgery, but he is expected to take about a week to recover.\n\nPope Leo, who enjoys sports like tennis and has no prior history of health issues, is relatively young for a Church leader. The nodule found on his lung is a small, localized lesion that can be benign, with fewer than 5% of lung nodules overall proving to be cancerous, according to the American Thoracic Society.",
  "summary": "Pope Leo said on Sunday that a small, well-contained nodule had been detected early during a recent check-up and that he would undergo surgery this week.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Pope Leo sticks to busy schedule before surgery to remove lung nodule",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/pope-leo-sticks-to-busy-schedule-before-surgery-to-remove-lung-nodule",
        "published": "2026-10-12T10:15:12.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}