WASHINGTON (JTA) — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court, underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer.
Ginsburg had the surgery Thursday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and likely will remain in the hospital for a week to 10 days, according to a statement released by the Supreme Court.
Ginsburg, 75, had no symptoms prior to the "incidental discovery" of a lesion during an annual checkup last month. Further tests revealed a small tumor, approximately 1 centimeter across, in the center of the pancreas. The statement said the cancer was apparently in an early stage.
She had surgery for colorectal cancer in 1999 and underwent chemotherapy for eight months.
Ginsburg was appointed to the high court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, the second woman to serve on the court after Sandra Day O’Connor.
