Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently completed three weeks of radiation treatment after doctors found a localized cancerous tumor on her pancreas.
Ginsburg’s radiation therapy, which was conducted at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, began August 5 days after the tumor was confirmed to be malignant, according to a statement from the Supreme Court. The treatment included the insertion of a stent in Ginsburg’s bile duct. Doctors have concluded that there is no evidence of disease elsewhere in her body.
The court said she “tolerated the treatment well.”
The 86-year-old justice has battled various illnesses over the last 20 years. In 1999, Ginsburg had surgery for colon cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment. More recently, she had surgery ten years ago after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg also was diagnosed with lung cancer late last year.
She had surgery to remove two cancerous nodules from her left lung in December. The nodules were discovered during scans after she fell and broke three ribs in November. The December surgery forced her to miss two weeks of oral arguments, which was the first time that happened in her 26 years on the bench.
BREAKING: Justice Ginsburg has undergone radiation treatment for tumor discovered on her pancreas. Court says no further treatment at this time. pic.twitter.com/ab48QYptG3
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) August 23, 2019
Ginsburg is the oldest active member of the Supreme Court. As a famously liberal justice, many Democrats fret that if she retires while President Trump is in office, it’ll give him another opportunity to put a conservative-leaning justice on the bench. Trump has already filled two spots on the court with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch after the vacancies left by the death of Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy’s decision to step down.
This is a breaking story that will be updated…
