Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg treated for cancerous tumour
If the 86-year-old justice were not to be fit enough, Donald Trump could replace the liberal justice with another conservative.
Friday 23 August 2019 21:51, UK
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been treated for a cancerous tumour on her pancreas, a court spokeswoman has said.
The 86-year old liberal justice, who was appointed in 1993 by Bill Clinton, underwent a three-week course of radiation therapy and "tolerated treatment well", with no further therapy required, spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said.
Doctors first detected an abnormality in July and the tumour was identified following a biopsy performed on 31 July at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Ms Arberg said: "She cancelled her annual summer visit to Santa Fe, but has otherwise maintained an active schedule.
"The tumour was treated definitively and there is no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body."
Ms Ginsburg, who joined the court in 1993, had two cancerous nodules in her left lung removed in December.
It meant she missed debates in January for the first time in her lengthy career in the court.
Speculation swirled about her ability to continue in the job - as the oldest justice, she is closely watched for any signs of deteriorating health.
Ms Ginsburg broke three ribs in a fall in November.
The nodules on her lung were found as part of the tests the justice carried out after the fall.
Ms Ginsburg was previously treated for pancreatic cancer in 2009 and colon cancer in 1999.
If as one of the nine-member court's four liberal justices, she were not fit enough to continue serving, Republican President Donald Trump could replace her with a conservative, shifting the court further to the right.
Mr Trump has added two justices since becoming president in January 2017, giving the court a 5-4 conservative majority.