Kentucky's Bunning predicts Ginsburg death

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., has predicted that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be dead from pancreatic cancer this year.

The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal reported Sunday that the senator made the comment Saturday in a speech to the Hardin County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner.

Telling attendees that the justice has cancer, Bunning noted that is was "bad cancer ... the kind that you don't get better from."

He said even though Ginsburg was operated on this month, "usually, nine months is the longest that anybody would live after (being diagnosed) with pancreatic cancer."

Ginsburg, 75, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this month. She was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, and is considered one of its most liberal members.

Ginsburg has never missed a session during her 16 years on the Supreme Court, despite treatment for colon cancer in 1999. She has said she plans to be back on the bench for the next oral arguments, scheduled for Monday.

Pancreatic cancer has one of the highest mortality rates, but Ginsburg has an unusually good prognosis because the cancer was detected at an early stage.