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Pope Leo XIV was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Illinois, Maryland, and Texas.
- Illinois: On Tuesday, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV had been diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. Leo, who is 71, was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, which is the most common subtype of lung cancer. He underwent surgery after a nodular lesion was found in his lung. Although fewer than 5% of lung nodules turn out to be cancerous, cancerous nodules are usually a sign of early-stage lung cancer. "The doctors believe it's best to take action, so, following their advice, I've decided to have surgery to remove it," Leo said on Sunday during his noon blessing. "Thank you for your spiritual support, and I entrust myself to your prayers." After Leo's surgery, the Vatican reported that the operation was "successful" and had "no complications." So far, the Vatican has not disclosed which stage the cancer was in, whether it had spread, or what additional treatments the pope may undergo. "The Vatican tends to keep these things under wraps, so there'll be a lot of reading between the lines to try and detect what is the state of the pope's health," said Candida Moss, the Edward Cadbury professor of theology at the University of Birmingham in England. (Tanyos/Livesay, CBS News, 10/13; Walker, Axios, 10/13)
- Illinois/Texas: VillageMD has signed a deal to sell an additional 27 primary care clinics to Harbor Health, a startup that operates healthcare providers and health insurance plans in Texas. Last year, Harbor Health acquired 32 clinics from VillageMD amid the company's efforts to sell its primary care businesses. "Houston will join Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and El Paso," said Harbor Health about its growth in Texas. "When the transaction closes, expected end of year, Harbor will operate nearly 70 clinics and more than double its number of physicians and advanced practice providers statewide." Aside from the clinics acquired by Harbor, VillageMD still has 17 clinics in Georgia, two clinics in Kentucky, and 12 clinics in Houston. VillageMD, which was originally acquired by Walgreens, is currently owned by private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Sycamore completed a $10 billion acquisition of Walgreens and its associated businesses last year. (Japsen, Forbes, 10/6)
- Maryland: FDA has sent a warning letter to Amazon for selling unapproved herpes treatments. In July, FDA purchased different herpes products on Amazon and found several violations, including that the products were considered unapproved new drugs. These products pose "a serious public health concern," since people using the products "may forgo timely, appropriate medical care, increasing their risk of severe complications such as infertility, sepsis, and death," the agency said. Although several of the products sold on Amazon are listed as homeopathic, they are still considered drugs and are not exempt from FDA's drug approval requirements. FDA also noted that it has not approved any over-the-counter treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including herpes. "FDA oversight and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements are essential to ensuring that nonprescription medicines are safe, effective, high-quality, and appropriately labeled," said Scott Furness, from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, adding that the organization "supports strong enforcement of these standards to protect consumers and maintain confidence in the products they rely on to manage their health." (Robertson, MedPage Today, 10/7)
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