'RBG' directors tweet support for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after cancer surgery

"Be well, tough lady," writes filmmaker Julie Cohen

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is getting support from RBG filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen, after the 85-year-old jurist underwent surgery to remove malignant nodules from her lung. 

"Be well, tough lady. We. Need. You.," Cohen tweeted hours after the Supreme Court's Office of Public Information shared news of the operation, which was performed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
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Be well, tough lady. We. Need. You. #RBG pic.twitter.com/N0PvhglQjv

— Julie Cohen (@FilmmakerJulie) December 21, 2018

​According to the court's public information officer, "Two nodules in the lower lobe of her left lung were discovered incidentally during tests performed...to diagnose and treat rib fractures sustained in a fall on Nov. 7."

Picking up on the serendipity of uncovering the cancer after Ginsburg's injury, West tweeted, "I'm no doctor, but maybe #RBG breaking ribs is a good thing."

I'm no doctor, but maybe #RBG breaking ribs a good thing. #SCOTUS says "Two nodules in the lower lobe of her left lung were discovered incidentally during tests to diagnose...rib fractures sustained in a fall on Nov. 7....No evidence of any remaining disease." pic.twitter.com/3AI8NDvRUM

— Betsy West (@Betsywest) December 21, 2018

In an op-ed piece published on CNN.com on Saturday, the directors noted the cancer surgery news triggered alarm among progressives, who fear any deterioration in Justice Ginsburg's health could put President Trump in a position to name her replacement. But Cohen and West pointed out RBG has survived cancer twice before, and has weathered many other challenges that might have overwhelmed a lesser person.

"Seemingly superhuman determination and toughness have been hallmarks of Ginsburg's entire life," they wrote. "This is a woman who had no trouble staying at the top of her Harvard Law School class -- a class in which she was one of nine women among 500 students -- at the same time she was taking care of a toddler and nursing a husband stricken with a potentially fatal cancer."

RBG, produced by CNN Films, made the Oscar shortlist announced earlier this week. It earned $14 million dollars at the box office, a phenomenal showing that speaks to Ginsburg's popularity and her crucial role as a bulwark against Trump.

While recuperating from her cancer surgery, Ginsburg voted with the majority in the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision that rejected the Trump administration's latest immigration policy initiative, that would have banned immigrants who cross illegally into the United States from seeking asylum.

Reports say Ginsburg cast her vote from her hospital bed. In the meantime, her recovery continues. According to the Supreme Court's statement, “Ginsburg is resting comfortably and is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days."