Pope Leo XIV will need no further treatment for lung cancer after final tests confirmed the disease was localized, his doctors said Wednesday.
Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora announced the findings just over a week after surgeons removed a tumor from the pontiff’s right lung.
"The final histopathology and molecular testing reports on the tissue removed during the Holy Father’s surgery were issued today," the doctors said in a statement.
"The results confirmed that the tumor was a lung adenocarcinoma and that the disease was localized. A subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is necessary."
Pope Leo underwent surgery Oct. 13 at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. The operation lasted about 90 minutes, with the pope spending approximately three hours in the operating room, according to the Holy See.
"The doctors said it was successful and there were no complications," the Holy See press office said after the procedure.
The pontiff awoke normally and returned to his hospital room following a brief observation period, Vatican News reported.
He was discharged Saturday after blood tests and a chest X-ray confirmed he was well enough to return to the Vatican. Thousands of supporters gathered outside the hospital, shouting "Papa!" as he departed.
Before leaving, Leo visited the children’s oncology ward, where young patients had sent him letters during his hospital stay.
Hepatitis B study in Guinea-Bissau that was to be funded by CDC and that drew global backlash ‘will not move forward’
The US-backed hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns that drew global backlash was halted, the lead researcher said on Wednesday.
It was “now clear” that the study “will not move forward in Guinea-Bissau”, Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, a Danish researcher, wrote on LinkedIn, adding, “we were not given the necessary governmental approval.”
Voters in Virginia will be voting on whether to enshrine the right to abortion in their state constitution, and a ballot measure in Idaho would create a statutory right to abortion in the state. In Missouri, voters have the chance to undo a ballot measure from 2024 that added a right to abortion to the state constitution.
Portugal already has much of the policy framework needed to tackle obesity – but people living with the disease are still waiting to see it translated into actual care, a
Needle exchanges, disease testing, providing Narcan and other harm reduction efforts navigate complexities of Western NC communities.
Reducing drug harm in NC mountain counties is a story from Carolina Public Press, an award-winning independent newsroom. Our breakthrough journalism shines a light on the critical overlooked and under-reported issues facing North Carolina’s more than 11 million residents. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
Measures would remove some penalties for those helping women access abortion but are ‘small-scale step’, say campaigners
Poland’s lower house of parliament has approved two bills aimed at loosening a near-total ban on abortions, in what campaigners have described as a “small-scale step” ahead of protests calling on the government to fulfil its promises to overhaul the country’s laws.
The new measures, which are likely to be vetoed by Poland’s nationalist president, would remove some of the criminal penalties for those who help women to access abortion care and allow terminations in cases of foetal abnormalities.
Measures would remove some penalties for those helping women access abortion but are ‘small-scale step’, say campaigners
Poland’s lower house of parliament has approved two bills aimed at loosening a near-total ban on abortions, in what campaigners have described as a “small-scale step” ahead of protests calling on the government to fulfil its promises to overhaul the country’s laws.
The new measures, which are likely to be vetoed by Poland’s nationalist president, would remove some of the criminal penalties for those who help women to access abortion care and allow terminations in cases of foetal abnormalities.
Duas mulheres de 45 anos procuram atendimento médico para saber quando devem realizar a próxima mamografia. A primeira não apresenta histórico familiar de câncer de mama nem outros fatores relevantes de risco. A segunda tem mãe e irmã diagnosticadas com a doença antes dos 50 anos. Embora tenham a mesma idade, suas necessidades de acompanhamento podem ser bastante diferentes.
Esse exemplo ilustra uma questão fundamental na medicina contemporânea: não basta perguntar quando uma mulher deve começar a fazer mamografia. É igualmente importante compreender qual é o seu risco individual de desenvolver câncer de mama.
A idade continua sendo um dos principais fatores de risco, mas não é o único. Histórico familiar, predisposição genética, antecedentes pessoais, densidade mamária e determinados tratamentos realizados no passado podem modificar as recomendações de acompanhamento.
Isso não significa abandonar as diretrizes de rastreamento. Significa reconhecer que elas são o ponto de partida para um cuidado mais individualizado.
Por que a idade não conta toda a história?
O rastreamento do câncer de mama é uma estratégia de saúde pública destinada a identificar a doença em mulheres sem sintomas, preferencialmente em fases iniciais, quando existem maiores possibilidades de tratamento eficaz.
No Brasil, o Ministério da Saúde atualizou, em 2025, suas orientações para o rastreamento mamográfico no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), estabelecendo como faixa prioritária a de mulheres entre 50 e 74 anos, com exames a cada dois anos. Para mulheres entre 40 e 49 anos, a realização da mamografia também deve ser considerada mediante informação sobre seus benefícios e possíveis riscos.
As recomendações internacionais não são inteiramente uniformes. Nos Estados Unidos, a US Preventive Services Task Force recomenda mamografia bienal dos 40 aos 74 anos, enquanto outras sociedades científicas adotam intervalos diferentes.
Essa diversidade de orientações não representa necessariamente uma contradição científica. Reflete diferentes interpretações sobre o equilíbrio entre benefícios, riscos e características das populações avaliadas.
A mamografia é um exame essencial para a detecção precoce, mas apresenta limitações. Pode produzir resultados falso-positivos, gerar investigações adicionais e identificar lesões que talvez nunca causassem manifestações clínicas, fenômeno conhecido como sobrediagnóstico.
Por outro lado, algumas mulheres apresentam risco elevado o suficiente para justificar acompanhamento mais intensivo, eventualmente iniciado antes da idade habitual de rastreamento. É nesse contexto que a avaliação individual ganha importância.
O que realmente modifica o risco de câncer de mama?
O histórico familiar é um dos primeiros aspectos a serem investigados. Ter mãe, irmã ou filha diagnosticada com câncer de mama, especialmente em idade jovem, merece atenção. Também são relevantes os antecedentes de câncer de ovário, os casos em múltiplos familiares e a ocorrência de câncer de mama em homens da família. É importante considerar tanto os parentes maternos quanto os paternos.
Entretanto, existe um equívoco frequente: acreditar que a ausência de histórico familiar significa ausência de risco. A maioria dos diagnósticos de câncer de mama ocorre em mulheres sem histórico familiar significativo da doença.
Alterações hereditárias em genes como BRCA1 e BRCA2 podem aumentar expressivamente a probabilidade de desenvolver determinados tipos de câncer. Quando há suspeita de predisposição hereditária, a avaliação especializada pode indicar aconselhamento genético e, em situações específicas, testes moleculares.
Outros fatores também merecem atenção, como radioterapia prévia na região do tórax em idade jovem e determinadas alterações identificadas em biópsias mamárias anteriores.
A densidade mamária é outra característica relevante. Mamas densas podem dificultar a identificação de lesões pela mamografia e estão associadas a maior risco de câncer de mama.
Isso, entretanto, não significa que toda mulher com mamas densas precise realizar automaticamente ultrassonografia ou ressonância magnética complementar. A decisão deve considerar o risco global e as evidências disponíveis.
O objetivo não é transformar cada fator de risco em um novo exame, mas reunir informações para orientar decisões mais adequadas.
Mais exames nem sempre significam mais proteção
É compreensível associar prevenção à realização frequente de exames. Entretanto, a qualidade do acompanhamento não deve ser medida apenas pela quantidade de procedimentos realizados.
Para mulheres com risco habitual, o rastreamento deve seguir recomendações fundamentadas em evidências, considerando idade, periodicidade e equilíbrio entre benefícios e possíveis danos. Já mulheres classificadas como de alto risco podem necessitar de estratégias específicas.
A American Cancer Society, por exemplo, recomenda mamografia e ressonância magnética anuais, geralmente a partir dos 30 anos, para determinados grupos de alto risco, incluindo mulheres com predisposição genética conhecida ou risco estimado ao longo da vida de aproximadamente 20% a 25% ou mais, conforme modelos apropriados.
Essa classificação precisa ser criteriosa. Ter uma familiar com câncer não determina, isoladamente, a necessidade de ressonância magnética, assim como não apresentar histórico familiar não elimina a importância do rastreamento.
Também é fundamental distinguir o rastreamento da investigação de sintomas. Uma mulher que percebe um nódulo persistente, secreção espontânea pelo mamilo (especialmente com sangue), retração recente da pele ou do mamilo, ou alterações suspeitas na mama deve procurar avaliação médica, independentemente da idade ou da data prevista para o próximo exame.
A presença de sintomas exige investigação diagnóstica, e não simplesmente aguardar o calendário de rastreamento.
Prevenir também significa cuidar dos fatores que podemos modificar
Nem todos os fatores de risco estão sob nosso controle. Não podemos modificar a idade, a herança genética ou os antecedentes familiares. Entretanto, algumas escolhas e condições de saúde podem influenciar o risco de desenvolver câncer de mama.
A prática regular de atividade física, a manutenção de um peso saudável, especialmente após a menopausa, e a redução do consumo de bebidas alcoólicas ou, preferencialmente, a abstinência delas são medidas relevantes. O acompanhamento médico também permite avaliar individualmente os riscos e benefícios de determinadas terapias hormonais.
É importante, contudo, distinguir prevenção de detecção precoce. Hábitos saudáveis podem contribuir para reduzir a probabilidade de adoecimento, mas não garantem proteção absoluta. Da mesma forma, a mamografia não impede o aparecimento do câncer: sua principal finalidade é identificar alterações antes do surgimento de sintomas, aumentando as possibilidades de tratamento oportuno.
Outubro Rosa: informação, acesso e cuidado individualizado
O Outubro Rosa representa uma oportunidade de ampliar o debate sobre a saúde da mulher para além da realização de exames. Precisamos falar sobre informação de qualidade, identificação de fatores de risco, acesso aos serviços de saúde e continuidade do cuidado.
A avaliação individualizada não deve ser entendida como um privilégio restrito a determinados grupos. Ela precisa fazer parte de uma assistência médica acessível, responsável e centrada nas necessidades de cada pessoa.
Duas mulheres podem ter a mesma idade e necessitar de estratégias diferentes de acompanhamento. O que não pode ser diferente é o direito à informação, à avaliação adequada e à investigação oportuna de qualquer alteração suspeita.
A melhor estratégia não é necessariamente realizar mais exames, mas oferecer o cuidado certo, no momento adequado, considerando o risco e a realidade de cada mulher.
*Texto escrito por Dr. Alexandre Pimenta, médico e responsável Técnico Nacional da AmorSaúde |CRM-MG 51971Médico
Former art teacher, who cared for her disabled son, ‘received almost no support’, said her local MP Manuela Perteghella
Andy Burnham has backed mandatory suicide prevention training for social workers after the “devastating” death of Matilda Davis, a parent-carer who killed herself minutes after meeting professionals.
The Guardian revealed in August how the “absolutely inspirational” 36-year-old had taken her life after feeling “completely exhausted” and failed by England’s social care system.
I was at a Flyers game when an 84-year-old woman appeared on the Jumbotron and stole the show.
The crowd cheered for her and booed the mascot, Gritty, whenever the camera switched away.
Watching thousands of strangers celebrate her brought me to tears during a difficult time.
Since our kids left for college, my husband and I have been to many Philadelphia Flyers games.
The most recent, against the Colorado Avalanche, felt magical, and it wasn't just the high of a second consecutive win after a nine-game losing streak. There was an older woman, way up in the upper section, who, in a purely joyful moment, stole the show and captured the hearts of all 18,353 of us in attendance.
I'm calling her Good Luck Granny.
People were being shown on the Jumbotron
During the third period, the Flyers were up 3-1, and the crowd was electric. Could they make it two wins in a row? During TV time-outs, cameras stationed throughout the arena pan to fans — parents holding ear-muffed babies aloft, kids jumping up and down, waving "My 1st Flyers game!!" signs — or to our beloved mascot, Gritty, in his Chaos Corner, doing what Gritty does.
I love seeing the reactions of people who make it on the jumbotron, and, yes, I may have, on occasion, attempted to wave at a camera pointed in our direction. Being at the game means losing myself and any worries I might have for a few hours in something everyone can agree on.
With less than 10 minutes left in the third period, the camera found a grey-haired, bespectacled woman, straight out of central casting, in a royal blue hoodie. She was chair dancing, arms up in the air, her bright orange Flyers microfiber towel ready for waving. The arena exploded into a unanimous uproar for this stranger.
The camera panned to Gritty, and everyone booed. Then they went back to the woman, and we watched her moment of recognition in real time along with the guy seated next to her who'd been pointing her out to the cameraman. She lit up and began pointing at herself, as she mouthed, "Oh, that's me!" This was met with uproarious cheers.
I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat and fought back tears as we continued to scream for her.
Everyone was excited for her
Everyone wanted more, and the camera operators obliged, cycling half a dozen times between Gritty, who played along with the boos and disappointment, and Good Luck Granny, who elicited raucous cheering, much to her and everyone's delight. I'm not sure why it made me so emotional, but the feeling remains.
After the game, fans followed and cheered her all the way out of the building, taking photos along the way.
Fans went crazy for her in the comment section, too. Under a video posted by Sports Radio 94WIP Reporter, Dave Uram, @anfieldcards wrote, "I sat right next to her and her daughter, she was crying after being on the screen. It meant so much to her. She's 84 years old but was screaming and cheering all game."
Maybe it's because 2026 has been filled with what feels like an endlessly worrisome, increasingly overwhelming news cycle, along with some personally painful moments. When my mother died in January, a few months shy of her 82nd birthday, I hadn't seen or spoken to her in 17 years. Not surprisingly, this has brought up some complicated feelings. Turning 59 this summer brought up a lot of thoughts, too (because I am a professional overthinker), about my own mortality and what the state of the world might be for my grandchildren.
For those three hours, though, being enveloped by the energy of strangers who come together for a shared, emotionally vested experience, the games have been a salve and a healing distraction. I also believe that now more than ever, we're all craving joyful, feel-good moments like cheering for an unsuspecting elderly woman in a crowded hockey arena.
So, thank you, beautiful stranger, our Good Luck Granny, for your infectious good vibes and an experience that will not soon be forgotten.
Leaving city life for a rural cabin meant confronting a lot of my fears.
Kate Irwin
I spent most of my adult life in cities before moving to a rural cabin for my husband's job.
It was hard to adjust, and I had to confront many of my phobias before moving back home.
Although I wouldn't choose to live in a cabin again, I'm grateful for what the experience taught me.
At the end of the summer, I packed my bags and two cats and got on a plane by myself, leaving our spacious home in Portland, Oregon, for a two-bedroom cabin in the remote woods of upstate New York.
I was planning to live there temporarily so I could spend some time with my husband, who had rented the place while he was working on a movie in the area. He had moved to the area a few weeks earlier to start work, and he would stay there until mid-November when the project wrapped.
His options for where to stay were limited: a room at a Best Western, or a quaint cottage with a wood-burning stove and brick flooring on a historic acreage with farm animals.
If I hadn't planned to come, he might have just chosen the hotel room, but he wanted a pet-friendly option with a little more space.
I saw staying in the cabin as a chance to slow down a bit after feeling work-related burnout — but I was nervous, too.
The cabin showed me what I took for granted at home
The cabin was a far cry from our house in Portland.
Kate Irwin
Immediately, there were some things I genuinely loved about rural living.
One of my favorite parts was the privacy. The cabin sat next to a creek and a grove of trees on a massive acreage at the foot of a mountain. It was part farm, part forest.
I rarely saw other people most days, and got plenty of work done. While at the cabin, I started working on the second draft of my novel while planning for my next full-time role.
However, it was also tough to adjust to rustic life. For most of my adult life, I'd lived in cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Portland.
Back home in Portland, I'd gotten used to our walkable neighborhood with incredible coffee shops just steps away, plus a slew of local wine bars, restaurants, and other small businesses easily accessible by bike.
Although there were a few charming spots in the general area, the surrounding town beyond the acreage was pretty lackluster, and we were living in a grocery-store desert. I was surprised by how little there really was to do, considering we were only about a two-hour drive from New York City.
Then there was the cottage itself. After living in a house with a dishwasher and an espresso machine, I had to get used to sputtering hot-water taps and Keurig coffee.
Still, none of these inconveniences was the end of the world, especially since I'd only be living here for one month. The biggest challenge, though, was confronting my obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Living near so many insects forced me to face my OCD
Our property had plenty of animals and insects.
Kate Irwin
Rustic cabin living meant that there were bugs everywhere, pretty much all the time.
Moths, stinkbugs, crane flies the size of my palm, spiders, grasshoppers, and even crickets managed to sneak their way inside. Outside, I'd get swarmed by mosquitoes and gnats.
One night, I counted over two dozen sizable bugs that had somehow snuck into our cabin. Sometimes the bugs made me feel trapped because I couldn't fully escape them, no matter where I was.
This might be an annoying inconvenience for people used to suburban life or climates with fewer bugs, but for me — someone with OCD — it felt like a test from the universe.
Although every person with OCD can and will have completely different fears, obsessions, and compulsions, many of mine center on fears of germs, disease, or contamination.
For me, a fear of hurting myself or my pets due to something in the environment — for instance, ticks with Lyme disease — can trigger compulsive handwashing, body-checking, and a general sense of anxiety throughout the day. When these compulsions come into play, I often become less productive, more distracted, and late for everything.
The presence of so many bugs, plus corners layered with dust and cobwebs, triggered my fears of contamination and heightened my anxiety. Early on, I was even afraid of walking on the grass outside, since upstate New York has many more reported cases of Lyme disease than in Oregon, my home base.
I was also concerned that my spouse, while working on location in the woods or other areas, might bring ticks home on his clothes, transmit them to me, or fall ill from a bite.
Being exposed to my fears eventually helped them fade
I'm glad I had the chance to confront my fears head-on.
Kate Irwin
Despite all of this, about a week in, I started to settle into cabin life a bit.
My fears were there, but nothing bad happened. The bugs didn't go away, but they didn't get us sick. The cats were happy. At one point, I walked across the grass to go see the goats on the property, and I didn't get any ticks.
It might sound silly, but for me, this was a bit of a breakthrough.
I love animals, nature, and traveling the world, but the intense, intrusive thoughts that OCD brings can make it difficult to enjoy a new adventure without a constant baseline feeling of anxiety.
The best part about living in this rural landscape was being able to see and get close to so many animals. On the property, there were free-range chickens and geese, plus wild turkeys, foxes, deer, and tons of blue jays.
And there was this squad of hilarious goats, sheep, and a cow. With time, I was able to enjoy the experience.
Spending a month in upstate New York isn't something I'd do again, and after a month at the cottage, I was excited to return to our spacious house and walkable neighborhood. But I'm grateful for the experience that allowed me to try out a new lifestyle, challenge my OCD, and come out stronger.
The majority of Australians who report a penicillin allergy are not truly allergic, prompting the peak body for immunologists to change its guidelines in a bid to reduce hospital stays and tackle antimicrobial resistance.
Penicillin, one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in Australia, was thought to cause allergies in 10% of Australians, or about 2.8 million people.
Login
