Changing Mindsets and Removing Guilt Surrounding Lung Cancer Diagnoses

Following the Vatican’s October 2026 announcement that Pope Leo XIV underwent a right lower lobectomy for lung adenocarcinoma despite a lack of smoking history, public attention has turned to the stigma that equates lung cancer with tobacco use. For patients who receive a diagnosis they never imagined could affect them, and for those with a smoking history who may feel blamed, how clinicians frame the first conversation can shape the entire course of care.

Chinmay Jani, MD, a medical oncologist at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, spoke with CancerNetwork^® in a studio interview about what the diagnosis is like for these patients and how he addresses the stigma that lung cancer comes purely from smoking.

Watch or listen to the full conversation for additional insights on lung cancer risk factors and targeted therapy advances.

Transcript:

CancerNetwork: What is it like for patients who receive a diagnosis they never imagined could affect them, and how do you address the stigma that lung cancer is a disease that comes purely from smoking?

Jani: This is something I’m asked very frequently when a patient and their family come in with a new diagnosis. Very often, if they don’t have a smoking history, they will [tell] me, “But doc, my dad or my mom have never smoked in their entire lives.” At that point, I try to inform them that tobacco is not the only reason causing lung cancer; there are various other reasons as well. But what we need to look at now is what we can do going forward, as a whole team, to help you.

I tell the same thing to patients who do have a tobacco and smoking history. Trying to stigmatize them and make them feel guilty that they were smoking and that’s what led to this cancer is not an appropriate way to start someone’s treatment. What I can do is guide them, give them different treatment options, and inform them how treatment has changed. It’s also not the same that lung cancer equals mortality or death. Patients with lung cancer can survive 3, 4, or 5 years beyond, depending on what kind of mutations they have, so I talk about those things as well.

If they have a smoking history, I also offer how we, as a physician team or as a cancer center, can help them stop smoking or guide them to a smoking cessation program. It helps change their mindset and takes that guilt away from the conversation. We are not here to embarrass anyone or judge anyone based on their smoking history. We are here to help with the next steps of their lung cancer treatment.

Reference

Burke D, Detrow S. Pope Leo has lung cancer, the Vatican announces after surgery. NPR. October 13, 2026. Accessed November 4, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/274jb6hh