Ginsburg is cancer-free after surgery, Supreme Court says
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Friday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recovery from lung cancer surgery was on track and that post-surgery tests found “no evidence of remaining disease.”
The reassuring report on the 85-year-old justice is in line with the statements issued after her surgery on Dec. 21. Her doctors said then that a lobe with two malignant nodules had been removed from her lung but that they saw no evidence of further disease and no further treatment was planned.
Kathy Arberg, the court’s spokeswoman, reported the same in a statement on Friday. “Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required,” she said.
At the time of Ginsburg’s surgery, medical experts said the normal recovery time was four to six weeks. But when she did not appear at court Monday for oral arguments, some speculated that her condition might be more dire than reported.
Friday’s update appeared intended to counter speculation that further tests had raised concerns about her recovery.
The court is scheduled to hear more arguments next week, then go on a midwinter recess for several weeks.
“Justice Ginsburg will continue to work from home next week and will participate in the consideration and decision of the cases on the basis of the briefs and the transcripts of oral arguments,” the court said.
In the past, justices recovering from illness or surgery have on occasion participated in decisions even if they could not be there to hear oral arguments.
Until this month, however, Ginsburg had a record of never missing an oral argument despite having undergone surgery on several occasions.