Counting her blessings after a timely cancer detection 

Frances Kearns was diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer, like Pope Leo. She is grateful for the pilot screening programme that uncovered the cause of her persistent cough 

Frances Kearns, who was successfully treated for lung cancer in May. Picture: Moya Nolan

FRANCES KEARNS never thought she’d have anything in common with Pope Leo XIV. But in May this year, the 66-year-old school cleaner had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from her lower left lung. The Pope had surgery on his right lung last month.

“My cancer was detected early, which meant all I needed was surgery to have it removed,” says the Dublin woman. “My brother wasn’t so lucky. He was diagnosed, after me, with stage-three throat and lung cancer and has been fighting hard ever since.