Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced Friday she is battling cancer again, just days after she was hospitalized for a possible infection. The 87-year-old Ginsburg,…
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced Friday she is battling cancer again, just days after she was hospitalized for a possible infection.
The 87-year-old Ginsburg, a four-time cancer survivor who announced in January that she was cancer-free, said a periodic scan and a biopsy revealed lesions on her liver, but chemotherapy treatment that began in May is “yielding positive results.” Her most recent scan last week showed “significant reduction” of the lesions, the justice said in a brief statement.
“I am tolerating chemotherapy well and am encouraged by the success of my current treatment,” Ginsburg said. “I will continue bi-weekly chemotherapy to keep my cancer at bay, and am able to maintain an active daily routine. Throughout, I have kept up with opinion writing and all other court work.”
This is Ginsburg’s fifth bout with cancer, following colon cancer in 1999, pancreatic cancer in 2009, lung cancer in 2018 and more pancreatic cancer last year. Still, she said she would stay on the court “as long as I can do the job full steam,” a phrase she has used many times in the past.
For years, Ginsburg’s health has been a concern for Democrats who worry that the high court’s 5-4 conservative majority could be expanded if she were to leave the bench before the November presidential election. Even if Democrats sweep to victories, Republicans will control the Senate at least until Jan. 3, and President Donald Trump will be in office at least until Jan. 20.
Ginsburg said her recent hospitalizations to remove gall stones and treat an infection were unrelated to her cancer.
Ginsburg was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore earlier this week after she experienced fever and chills. She was treated for a possible infection and underwent an endoscopic procedure to clean out a bile duct stent that was inserted last August.
She had been hospitalized in May following an infection caused by a benign gallbladder condition, the Supreme Court said.
Ginsburg, the second-longest-serving justice on the bench, was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
