Ruth Bader Ginsburg Shares She's Undergoing Cancer Treatment, Will Stay On Court

The Supreme Court justice revealed Friday that she’s been undergoing chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, this time in her liver.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen as she presents the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Inaugural Woman of Leadership Award to Agnes Gund at The Library of Congress on February 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen as she presents the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Inaugural Woman of Leadership Award to Agnes Gund at The Library of Congress on February 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images

Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday that she’s been undergoing chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, but plans to remain on the nation’s highest court.

The 87-year-old Supreme Court Justice said she began chemotherapy in May and that the course is “yielding positive results.” She added that she will “remain fully able” to stay on the Court.

“Satisfied that my treatment course is now clear, I am providing this information,” Ginsburg said in a statement Friday.

Ginsburg said other recent hospitalizations weren’t connected to the cancer recurrence.

Earlier this week, the Court said that Ginsburg had been admitted to the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, for the treatment of a potential infection after she was experiencing “fever and chills.” The Court said “she underwent an endoscopic procedure” Tuesday afternoon “to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August.” Ginsburg was also hospitalized in May to receive non-surgical treatment for gallstones.

In her statement Friday, Ginsburg added that her most recent scan was on July 7 and that it showed a “significant reduction of the liver lesions and no new disease.”

“I am tolerating chemotherapy well and am encouraged by the success of my current treatment,” Ginsburg wrote. “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.”

Ginsburg has been treated four times for cancer, including pancreatic and colon cancer, most recently last August, the Washington Post previously reported. She is the Court’s oldest member and recognized as a leader of its liberal minority after a decades-long legal career spent advancing gender equality and women’s rights. Ginsburg announced that she was cancer-free in January.

“I have often said I would remain a member of the Court as long as I can do the job full steam,” she wrote on Friday. “I remain fully able to do that.”

This is a developing story.