Ruth Bader Ginsburg undergoing chemotherapy ‘to treat a recurrence of cancer,’ she says

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she has been undergoing chemotherapy to treat a recurrence of cancer since May.

The longtime justice said she will remain a member of the Supreme Court, according to a press release sent to multiple media outlets.

“A periodic scan in February followed by a biopsy revealed lesions on my liver,” Ginsburg, 87, wrote. “My recent hospitalizations to remove gall stones and treat an infection were unrelated to this recurrence.”

Chemotherapy “is yielding positive results,” she said.

Her July 7 scan showed “significant reduction” of the liver lesions and she is encouraged by the success of the chemotherapy, Ginsburg said.

“I will continue bi-weekly chemotherapy to keep my cancer at bay, and am able to maintain an active daily routine,” she added.

Her hospitalization earlier this week was to “clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August.” She was also hospitalized in May after suffering a gallbladder infection, McClatchy News reported.

Ginsburg has struggled with cancer for more than 20 years. In 1999, she was treated for colon cancer. In 2009, she underwent surgery to remove a small pancreatic cancer. On Dec. 21, 2018, doctors removed cancerous growths from her left lung. She also underwent heart surgery in 2014. And in August, 2019, she underwent radiation therapy after the discovery of a cancerous tumor on her pancreas.

She missed oral arguments for the first time last year after having two cancerous nodules removed from her left lung, according to CNN.

Ginsburg is a former federal judge and ACLU lawyer whom President Bill Clinton selected to the Supreme Court in 1993. She is viewed as one of the four members of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, which has nine justices in total.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 12:20 PM.