Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg revealed on Friday that she has been undergoing chemotherapy since May due to a recurrence of liver cancer.
Ginsburg said in a statement that the treatment is unrelated to the infection that sent her to the hospital this week. She reported that the chemotherapy has been “yielding positive results.”
“My most recent scan on July 7 indicated significant reduction of the liver lesions and no new disease,” she said in the statement. “I am tolerating chemotherapy well and am encouraged by the success of my current treatment. I will continue bi-weekly chemotherapy to keep my cancer at bay, and am able to maintain an active daily routine.”
“Throughout, I have kept up with opinion writing and all other Court work,” Ginsburg added. “I have often said I would remain a member of the Court as long as I can do the job full steam. I remain fully able to do that.”
This marks the fifth time the 87-year-old liberal justice has been treated for cancer. She had declared in January that she was cancer-free months after completing treatment for a malignant tumor on her pancreas the previous summer.
Ginsburg said Friday that doctors discovered lesions on her liver during a periodic scan in February.
She has been hospitalized twice in the past three months — once this week to treat an infection after experiencing fever and chills, and once in May to remove gallstones.