Michael Kovac/Getty Images.
Just weeks after news of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s three cracked ribs sent panicked gasps around the Internet, another health scare has grabbed headlines. The 85-year-old Justice underwent minor surgery on Friday to remove two malignant nodules from her left lung, but has “no evidence of any remaining disease,” according to Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg.
Doctors discovered the malignant nodules in Ginsburg’s lungs during treatment for those cracked ribs this past November. A pulmonary lobectomy performed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City removed the two nodules, and Ginsburg will rest in the hospital for several days before returning home. No further treatment is reportedly required.
Ginsburg was previously treated for colon cancer in 1999, and in 2009 underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for pancreatic cancer. She also had a heart stent implanted in 2014, but did not miss time on the bench. The stalwart Ginsburg is renowned for her fitness regimen and dedication to her life’s work, though occasional health scares and talk of retirement naturally stoke fear Ginsburg will require replacement on the Supreme Court.
Arberg’s press release also promises that “updates will be provided as they become available.”
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