What to know about Pope Leo’s lung cancer

More about Pope Leo's shocking cancer diagnosis hours after having a planned surgery to remove a nodule or small growth from his lung. The Vatican revealed the first American pope has lung cancer. And now Pope Leo's brother confirms to ABC News that he's also battling cancer. Action News reporter Catherine Scott joining us live from Villanova University, which is Pope Leo's alma mater. Catherine, good morning. Not the best news that we'd like to hear. No, certainly not. But, you know, we know the Pope is a huge Villanova fan, a Villanova alum. We've seen him raise his Villanova V's before, and people here on campus have been thinking about him since hearing about his diagnosis. So many people have reached out and said, you know, please know that we're praying for our Holy Father. Prayers from Villanova University, Pope Leo XIV's alma mater, as the pontiff is diagnosed with lung cancer. Villanova staff and students are currently in Italy for the university's International Sustainability Conference. The Pope was supposed to present the first edition of the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal, but wasn't able to due to his health. The Holy Father, I think, for the past year has been praying for all of us, and now it's our time to pray for him. The pontiff underwent surgery yesterday to have the lower lobe of his right lung removed. That procedure confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of lung cancer. Dr. Patrick Ross, the chief of thoracic surgery at Mainline Health, said detecting lung cancer at the earliest stage and the patient's overall health helped determine the outcomes. The other factor is how it is done, and it is my understanding this was done minimally invasively with a thoracoscopic or video-assisted thoracoscopic approach. that that is an extremely successful technique the pope has a family history of cancer according to New York Times his mother died after a cancer battle his brother Lou Prevost was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and fell out of remission three months ago Prevost wrote to ABC News that he wanted to say thank you to those who prayed for a successful surgery please keep praying for a good final outcome and the archbishop of Philadelphia Reverend Nelson Perez released a statement reading in part. I ask all people throughout the Catholic Church of Philadelphia to express their love for Pope Leo through continued prayer for the intention of his health during his recovery. The Pope is expected to remain in the hospital for about a week. We're live in Villanova this morning. Catherine Scott, Channel 6 Action News. Support from the Wildcats and beyond. Thank you, Catherine.