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Justice Ginsburg: Cancer is back, but no plans to retire

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

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Credit: European University Institute/Flickr.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Credit: European University Institute/Flickr.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg has said that her cancer has returned, but ruled out retirement from the nation’s highest court.

Ginsburg, 87, said in a statement released by the Supreme Court on Friday that she has been receiving chemotherapy every two weeks since May 19, which has reduced lesions on her liver.

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

Ginsburg noted, “Immunotherapy first essayed proved unsuccessful. The chemotherapy course, however, is yielding positive results. Satisfied that my treatment course is now clear, I am providing this information.”

Ginsburg’s statement was released one day after she was released from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for the treatment of a possible infection.

Earlier this year, Ginsburg was hospitalized with an infection in her gallbladder, though she still participated in oral arguments. She said her recent hospitalizations were unrelated to cancer.

Ginsburg, who has sat on America’s highest court since 1993, has experienced a number of health issues over the past few years.

In August 2019, she underwent radiation for a tumor on her pancreas.

In December 2018, Ginsburg had surgery to remove cancerous nodules from her lungs.

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