Doctors declare Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be cancer free with ‘no further treatment’ required

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will have to take another week off from the bench, but she’ll have the peace of mind knowing that after her recent surgery to remove cancerous growths from her lower left lung, she’s currently disease free.

According to SCOTUS spokesperson Kathy Arberg, Ginsburg will work from home while she recovers.

“Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required,” Arberg said Friday.

Ginsburg, who is 85, had surgery late last month to remove the growths which forced her to miss oral arguments for the first time in 25 years.

There’s no indication when she’ll return to the bench, but cancer experts say that the recovery time for the type of surgery she had (a minimally invasive pulmonary lobectomy) is about four-to-six weeks.

Ginsburg’s health has been a touchy subject when it comes to the ideological balance of the Supreme Court. As NBC News points out, the nine-justice panel is currently divided 5-4 among Republican and Democratic nominees, with Ginsburg leaning to the liberal side.

One month before her cancer surgery in December, Ginsburg fell in her office and fractured three ribs.

Speaking to CNN, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Dr. Robert Miller said that while the time off for Ginsburg is typical, he would be concerned “if her activity level does not improve over the next few weeks.”

“It’s an uncomfortable operation,” Miller said. “She already had the rib fractures to deal with when she went into it.”

Ginsburg said she will continue to serve on the Supreme Court as long as she’s is able. In 1999, she was treated for colorectal cancer and 10 years later for the early stages of pancreatic cancer.

“I said I will do this job as long as I can do it full steam,” Ginsburg said last month.

Featured image via Flickr

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.