By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Pope Leo is healthy and ready to depart this week for an intense three-country tour of South America less than a month after his lung cancer surgery, Vatican officials said on Tuesday, adding that no extra medical precautions were being taken for the trip.
Leo, 71, leaves on Friday for a 12-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, set to be one of the most intense a pope has taken in decades. He had surgery on October 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.
"The pope is in good health," Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said at a briefing. "We're not talking of a permanent condition. We're talking about something that you heal from, because it is surgery."
The cancer diagnosis for Leo, who became pope in May 2025, caused shock and raised questions about the future shape of his papacy as he deals with the illness.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's foreign minister, said last week the health issue was "a bit of a game changer" for how Catholics view Leo's health and future papacy.
NO ADDITIONAL MEDICAL MEASURES FOR TRIP
Leo was treated for lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. His doctors have said that examinations of tissue removed in the operation had confirmed the disease was localized and he would not require any further treatments.
Bruni said Leo had recovered enough that no additional medical measures would be necessary during his trip.
The Vatican medical personnel who usually travel with the pope will do so, without changes, and ambulances that are usually part of the pope's travelling convoy on foreign visits will be along as on previous visits, he said.
"There's always doctors, there's always nurses, there's always certain basic conditions," he said. "I am not going to go into greater detail because the situation does not require it."
Maria Montserrat Alvarado, the new head of the Vatican's vast communications apparatus, said at the briefing that Leo's stamina was "fantastic."
"I would have no fear," she said. "His doctors are very confident."
MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY RISK OF COMPLICATIONS FOR POPE LOW
Over his November 6-17 tour, Leo is scheduled to travel some 31,000 km (19,300 miles) across 10 cities and give 36 speeches.
The Vatican reiterated on Tuesday that the trip would proceed with no changes to the previous itinerary, which includes 12 flights and two helicopter trips.
In Peru, the pope will stop in Cusco, a city nestled in the Andes mountains at 3,399 m (11,152 feet) above sea level, where travellers can experience altitude sickness or require supplemental oxygen.
Medical experts told Reuters the decision by Leo's doctors to clear him to fly should indicate the risk of complications from his surgery was low, that his operated lung had fully expanded and any surgical wounds were healing without signs of infection.
"I don't think the pope will face any particular risks or need to take any specific precautions for his trip," said Dr. Serena Ricciardi, a lung cancer specialist at Rome's San Camillo Forlanini Hospital.
Dr. Antonio Passaro, chief of thoracic oncology at the European Institute of Oncology, a research hospital in Milan, said the procedure the pope underwent "is not, in itself, an obstacle to air travel or to resuming strenuous activity."
"What matters is not only the procedure itself, but above all the quality of the recovery and the person's functional condition," said Passaro.
With the trip's intense itinerary, including the high-altitude stops in Peru, Leo's doctors will likely advise the pope to take rest breaks and consider using supplemental oxygen as needed, said Passaro.
"Naturally, a complex trip involving numerous flights and time spent at high altitude requires certain precautions, particularly regarding oxygenation, fatigue management, and the need for adequate rest periods," he said.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee;Editing by Rod Nickel)
