Pope Leo XIV says he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodule on his lung

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV announced Sunday he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodular lesion on his lung, in the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate.The 71-year-old Leo said the nodule was found at an early stage and was “circumscribed” or well-localized. The Vatican said Leo would undergo surgery in ”the coming days," with an expected recovery time of a week.The American pope made the announcement during his Sunday noon blessing. He thanked the crowd for their closeness and entrusted himself to their prayers.A nodule can be benign or malignantA lung nodule is a small abnormal area measuring less than 3 centimeters (1 inch) that sometimes appears on a CT scan of the chest or abdomen, according to the American Cancer Society. Often, the scans are done to investigate trauma or a lung infection, unrelated to a lung cancer screening.“Lung nodules are fairly common and are often benign, but benign and cancerous nodules can have a similar appearanc