Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Underwent Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer Today

Photo: LA Times, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Bad news for the United States Supreme Court justices. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only woman on the Supreme Court and one of the most consistently strong liberal voices in the United States, had surgery today for pancreatic cancer.

In a statement, the court announced that Ginsburg, 75, underwent surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for removal of a cancerous tumor from her pancreas. The court said:

Justice Ginsburg had no symptoms prior to the incidental discovery of the lesion during a routine annual check-up in late January at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. A Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan revealed a small tumor, approximately 1 (centimeter) across, in the center of the pancreas. Source: LA Times

My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family. Ms. Ginsburg was appointed by President Clinton in 1993. She was the second woman appointed to the court, an early litigator and strategist for women's rights. She had colon cancer 10 years ago.