美国国家公共电台 NPR Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Undergoes Surgery For Lung Cancer

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Supreme¹ Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery today for early stage lung cancer. The odds² for a full recovery from the disease at that stage have dramatically improved in recent years. That said, this is the 85-year-old liberal icon's third bout³ with cancer.

To talk more about Ginsburg's health, we're joined in the studio now by NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. Hey, Nina.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁴: Hi.

CHANG: So Ginsburg had surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York today. What details can you share about the procedure she had? How did it go?

TOTENBERG: Well, so far, so good is the report. The surgery was a lobectomy, the removal of one of the five lobes⁶ of the lung. It was performed this morning at Memorial Sloan Kettering, as you said. The justice had no symptoms prior to the discovery of the cancer. It was discovered incidentally last month when she fell and fractured several ribs⁷. Subsequent scans followed by other tests and biopsies showed two suspicious lesions.

Both were confirmed today as malignant⁸, according to Dr. Valerie Rusch, who performed the surgery. She said there was no evidence of any remaining disease. Also, scans performed before the surgery indicated no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body. Dr. Rusch said that currently there is - no further treatment is planned, meaning no chemotherapy or radiation is planned as of now.

CHANG: OK, so early stage cancer, and it sounds like it wasn't too severe.

TOTENBERG: Well, I've talked to a bunch of leading thoracic surgeons who say Ginsburg was incredibly lucky that this was discovered so early, when the odds of recovery are better, especially in light of new minimally⁹ invasive surgical¹⁰ methods that involve small incisions¹¹ and not much pain compared to the old open way of doing these operations that involved just huge wounds.

CHANG: What are the prospects¹² for recovery in her case or in cases like this?

TOTENBERG: Well, a lot depends on what the pathology report shows days from now. The existence of two lesions may make this a stage 2 instead of a stage 1 cancer. But Dr. Douglas Mathisen, who's chief of thoracic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, says if the pathology report shows no lymph node involvement...

DOUGLAS MATHISEN: Then you may have upwards¹³ of a 75 or 80 percent five-year survival with complete removal of the tumor¹⁴.

TOTENBERG: If there is lymph node involvement within the lobe⁵ that's been removed, he said, the odds of survival at five years out drop down to about 50 percent.

CHANG: OK, so the court reconvenes to hear arguments January 7, which is just a little more than two weeks away. And during her 25 years on the court, Justice Ginsburg has never missed a day, not a single day of oral arguments, which is just incredible. But is she really going to be able to keep that track record going? I mean, doesn't she need to rest?

TOTENBERG: She might, but doctors say that if there are no serious complications, she'd likely be home in three or four days and able to make calls and do desk work. And barring complications, her main enemy in the short run will be fatigue¹⁵. But doctors say if she doesn't overdo¹⁶ it, she should be in pretty good shape maybe to be there in time for the next argument calendar, maybe in four weeks.

CHANG: Of course the question on many people's minds whenever Ginsburg's health comes up - you know, she's 85. As we said, this is her third bout with cancer. Are liberals getting nervous about the possibility that President Trump¹⁷ could get a third pick for the Supreme Court?

TOTENBERG: You bet (laughter). Democrats¹⁸, liberals - they're terrified that Trump will get a third bite at the Supreme Court apple. And just to underline the stakes, today the Supreme Court dealt a setback¹⁹ to the Trump administration in its attempt to implement²⁰ a new rule that bars people who cross the border illegally from seeking asylum²¹. The lower courts so far have prevented the policy from going into effect. The vote not to intervene at the Supreme Court level was 5 to 4 with Chief Justice Roberts joining the court's four liberals. Now, if Ginsburg were not on the court, the vote likely would have gone the other way.

CHANG: That's NPR's Nina Totenberg. Thanks so much, Nina.

TOTENBERG: Thank you.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

3 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

6 lobes   

n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶

参考例句：

• The rotor has recesses in its three faces between the lobes. 转子在其凸角之间的三个面上有凹槽。 来自辞典例句
• The chalazal parts of the endosperm containing free nuclei forms several lobes. 包含游离核的合点端胚乳部分形成几个裂片。 来自辞典例句

7 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

8 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

9 minimally   

最低限度地，最低程度地

参考例句：

• Food spoilage problems occur with minimally processed, concentrated frozen citrus products. 食品的变质也发生在轻微加工的、浓缩冷冻的柑橘制品中。
• So, minimally, they are responsible for such actions and omissions. 所以，至少来说，他们要对这样的行为和忽略负责。

10 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

11 incisions   

n.切开，切口( incision的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cruciate incisions heal poorly and are not required. 不需要愈合差的十字形切口。 来自辞典例句
• After two days red incisions appear on their bodies. 一两天内身体会出现粉红色的损伤。 来自电影对白

12 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

13 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

14 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

15 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

16 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

17 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

18 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

20 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

21 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。