Ginsburg's Recent Fall May Have Had Silver Lining

Tests uncovered malignant growths, which have now been removed
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 21, 2018 12:08 PM CST
Updated Dec 21, 2018 12:27 PM CST
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Malignant Growths Removed
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Some scary news for fans of RBG: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery Friday to remove two malignant growths in her left lung, the Supreme Court said. It is the 85-year-old Ginsburg's third bout with cancer since joining the court in 1993, per the AP. The good news for Ginsburg: Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York found "no evidence of any remaining disease," and scans taken before the surgery showed no cancerous growths elsewhere in her body, said a court statement. No additional treatment is planned. Ginsburg, who leads the court's liberal wing, is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days.

The growths were found during tests Ginsburg had after she fractured ribs in a fall in her Supreme Court office on Nov. 7. The court's oldest justice had surgery for colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer 10 years later. Among other health problems, she also broke two ribs in a fall in 2012 and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. She was hospitalized after a bad reaction to medicine in 2009. Ginsburg has never missed Supreme Court arguments in more than 25 years on the bench. The court won't hear arguments again until Jan. 7. (More Ruth Bader Ginsburg stories.)

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