Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave a public health update at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. Saturday amid recent reports that she was treated for pancreatic cancer, telling the crowd that she is alive and “on my way to being very well” following her latest cancer treatment.
The 86-year-old justice reportedly started radiation therapy at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City earlier this month – August 5 – but told the crowd that she is well on her way to health.
“As this audience can see I am alive… and I’m on my way to being very well,” she told the crowd, adding that she loves her job and that it “keeps me going”:
“This audience can see I am alive. And I am on my way to being very well.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks at 2019 Library of Congress National Book Festival. pic.twitter.com/Q98rfpFnaO
— The Hill (@thehill) August 31, 2019
According to the court’s statement, “there is no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body.”
“Justice Ginsburg will continue to have periodic blood tests and scans. No further treatment is needed at this time,” the statement added:
JUST IN: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent 3 weeks of radiation treatment this summer after the discovery a cancerous tumor on her pancreas. Full statement below (h/t @JanCBS) pic.twitter.com/t7kDQghHVZ
— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) August 23, 2019
“For one thing, I love my job,” Ginsburg told the excited crowd on Saturday. “It’s the best and the hardest job I’ve ever had. It has kept me going through four cancer bouts. Instead of concentrating on my aches and pains, I just know that I have to read this set of briefs.”
Ginsburg has struggled with her health in recent years.
As Breitbart News detailed:
Ginsburg, the liberal face of the Supreme Court, has fought cancer on and off for roughly two decades. She underwent a procedure to remove malignant nodules from her left lung on December 21st of last year. The cancerous growths were discovered while receiving treatment for a fall in her office. Ginsburg missed the court’s oral arguments for several days in February, participating in cases using transcripts — a first in the justice’s 25-year tenure on the bench.
Ginsburg has experienced several health issues in recent years. The justice underwent cancer surgeries in 1999 and 2009 and broke her ribs in at least two separate occasions. In 2014, Ginsburg had a stent inserted into her heart.
Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress, indicated that she wanted to introduce Ginsburg as “the Beyoncé of jurisprudence,” but Ginsburg reportedly said she preferred “the J. Lo of jurisprudence”:
What an honor to welcome Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the @librarycongress #NatBookFest! pic.twitter.com/1IRX8ecuMo
— Carla Hayden (@LibnOfCongress) August 31, 2019
Just WOW! More than 4,000 people to see Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the @librarycongress #NatBookFest. Some lined up at 4am. Thank you!!! pic.twitter.com/NR5Rd0Fjqt
— Carla Hayden (@LibnOfCongress) August 31, 2019
The Supreme Court’s next term will begin October 7, and Ginsburg said she will “be ready when the time comes.”
