WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has undergone radiation therapy to treat a malignant tumor discovered during routine blood tests in early July, according to a statement from the court.
Ginsburg, 86, began a three-week course of radiation therapy Aug. 5 at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
"The Justice tolerated treatment well," Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in a statement. "She cancelled her annual summer visit to Santa Fe, but has otherwise maintained an active schedule."
Arberg said doctors noted an abnormality during a routine blood test in early July and that a subsequent biopsy on July 31 confirmed a "localized malignant tumor" on her pancreas.
After Ginsburg underwent treatment, Arberg said, "There is no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body."
"Justice Ginsburg will continue to have periodic blood tests and scans," she said. "No further treatment is needed at this time."
In January, Ginsburg missed arguments in the Supreme Court for the first time since joining the court in 1993 while recovering from surgery to remove cancerous growths from her left lung. She previously underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009, according to the Associated Press.
Ginsburg is the eldest person serving on the Supreme Court and leads its liberal wing.
Cox Media Group
