Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is back.
The Washington Examiner reports that the 86-year-old four-time cancer survivor spoke this weekend at the National Book Festival in Washington, where she assured supporters that she is on her way “to being very well.”
The return of RBG
A crowd of thousands gathered on Saturday to hear Ginsburg’s conversation with NPR legal affairs reporter Nina Totenberg.
“We all know you’ve had some health challenges,” Totenberg said of Ginsburg. “How are you feeling?”
“This audience can see that I am alive,” the justice joked before adding with a more serious tone, “I’m on my way to being very well.” Her statement earned a hearty cheer from the audience.
Nine lives
Starting in early August, Ginsburg began three weeks of treatment for a malignant tumor found on her pancreas. The treatment included radiation therapy and the placing of a stent in her bile duct.
This most recent bout marked the fourth time that the justice has faced cancer in the last two decades, according to the Wall Street Journal. Just before the turn of the millennium, Ginsburg successfully fought off colon cancer; 10 years later, she beat pancreatic cancer; and just last year, she overcame lung cancer.
Like on previous occasions, in this most recent round, cancer doesn’t appear to have stood a chance against the “Notorious RBG.” Her doctors stated that they “treated [the tumor] definitively and there is no evidence of disease elsewhere” in her body.
Despite these health issues, Ginsburg — amazingly — has taken virtually no time off from the Supreme Court, which she first joined in 1993. In fact, the justice only missed arguments at the high court for the first time earlier this year as she recovered from lung surgery.
How does she do it?
With these victories in mind, Totenberg asked Ginsburg on Saturday the question that has been on everyone’s mind: “How do you just keep truckin’?”
“For one thing, I love my job,” Ginsburg replied, according to The New York Times. “It’s the best and the hardest job that I’ve ever had. It has kept me going through four cancer bouts.”
Ginsburg went on to say that, not only does she not plan on retiring, but she doesn’t even expect to have to take off any more time from her job. “I’ll be prepared when the time comes,” she declared.
No comments: