A brother of Pope Leo XIV is receiving treatment for blood cancer, a report has said, a day after the pontiff underwent surgery that revealed a diagnosis of lung cancer.
A source close to the Prevost family told NBC 5 Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern that the pope’s brother, Louis, was being treated for blood cancer.
However, no further details were available about Louis’ prognosis or how long he had been undergoing treatment.
The development comes after Pope Leo underwent surgery in Rome, during which doctors confirmed he had lung adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer.
According to Harvard Medical School, lung adenocarcinoma develops when abnormal cells in the lungs multiply uncontrollably and form a tumour.
The Lung Cancer Foundation of America identifies the disease as the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for approximately 40 per cent of cases.
The Vatican said the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung was removed during the procedure earlier this week.
Although details of the pontiff’s prognosis have not been made public, Dr Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, said the outlook would depend partly on the stage of the disease.
“Adenocarcinoma is the most common (type of lung cancer), also with the most favorable prognosis,” Liu said. “While we know the diagnosis we now need to know the stage.”
