Ruth Bader Ginsburg reveals she is "cancer free"

Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by Horror_Mango
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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg revealed that she is "cancer free" on Tuesday in an interview in her chambers with CNN, reports the outlet. The 86-year-old has been treated for cancer twice in the past 13 months — she had a tumor removed from her pancreas in August and two cancerous nodules on her lung removed in December 2018.

In the interview, the justice told CNN her year was off to a good start. "I'm cancer free. That's good," she told CNN.

Last August, Ginsburg underwent a three-week course of radiation for a tumor on her pancreas, according to a release sent by the Supreme Court. The tumor was treated "definitively," according to the statement, and there is no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body.

In December of 2018, she underwent surgery to remove two cancerous nodules from her lung. In January 2019, she missed oral arguments for what was first time in more than 25 years.

"Post-surgery evaluation indicates no evidence of remaining disease, and no further treatment is required," a spokesperson for the Supreme Court said a few weeks later.

The legendary justice has had multiple other health issues over the past few years, including fracturing three ribs on her left side after a fall in her office in late 2018 and being hospitalized for chills and fever in November.

She has now been treated for cancer four times over a two-decade span. She had colorectal cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009.

Both liberals and conservatives are closely watching the health of Ginsburg, who is the court's oldest justice. President Trump has already successfully added two conservative justice to the court and adding a third could significantly swing the court to the right.

The interview comes before the Supreme Court is set to resume oral arguments for 2020 next week. The court will weigh in on myriad issues this year, including workplace right for gay and transgender people, new abortion restrictions, the first major second amendment case in over 10 years and the rollback of deportation protections for undocumented immigrants.

pingasthrowaway on January 9th, 2020 at 04:10 UTC »

Not to diminish from her being a badass for beating cancer, because that's a huge achievement, but the main reason she's beaten cancer several times is early detection. If there's a cause for concern, you've had a history of cancer personally or it's common in your family, get checked sooner than later and the prognosis is exponentially better.

EDIT: Since this comment kind of blew up I'm adding more important info.

Sadly cancer is too complex to give a concrete when or how to screen for it answer. It depends on the type of cancer you're deemed at risk for. Some cancers like colorectal cancer put all men at risk regardless of genetics, so you'd probably be advised to screen for that around age 50, regardless of race, health history, etc. The methods used for most of the "routine" cancer screenings (breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung are among the most common) are fairly effective and non-invasive (well a colonoscopy seems super invasive for the patient but my point is it's not going to hurt you like a major surgery). Unfortunately some cancers like pancreatic cancer have less of an indication aside from diabetes and hyperglycemia putting you at higher risk, and very early screenings might not catch any evidence that the cancer is developing.

The bottom line is that you need to give your doctors any relevant health information and let them offer you advice on how to go forward. They'll determine if you're considered low or high-risk for certain illnesses and encourage a proactive approach if you're high risk. Also, not all cancers are hereditary so don't freak out if your great uncle twice removed died of cancer. Most cancers are sporadic, or non-hereditary (and could be brought on by all kinds of things or random mutations)... which probably isn't going to provide you with any relief, but I digress, the reason hereditary cancer is so relevant is that there are more ways to prepare for it and be proactive.

El_Feculante on January 9th, 2020 at 04:01 UTC »

Little known fact: she shrinks an inch each time she beats cancer. This is why she’s 4’ 5”.

TooMad on January 9th, 2020 at 02:59 UTC »

Cancer reveals "I quit she's too damned tough"