Rehnquist's health is a closely guarded secret - He has thyroid cancer, but how advanced or not it is very few people know. Three events over the next few of weeks could indicate the extent of his illness (or good health). On November 29 the court returns to hear arguments. There is an annual court Christmas party on December 17th. Then we have George Bush's inauguration. If Rehnquist were not ill he would be expected to attend all three events.

Rehnquist is 80 years old. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last month. He has spent the last month or so working from his home in Virginia. This means he has been reading transcripts at home and sending his votes to justices.

At the beginning of November we were told that he was having chemotherapy and radiotherapy for thyroid cancer. That is the last health report we have had.

Most experts believe Rehnquist will have to say something in public about his health by the end of the year. Many say he is about to step down.

Rehnquist is the USA's Chief Justice

What's the Prognosis for Thyroid Cancer

Most thyroid cancers are very curable. In fact, the most common types of thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular) are the most curable. In younger patients, both papillary and follicular cancers can be expected to have better than 95% cure rate if treated appropriately. Both papillary and follicular cancers are typically treated with complete removal of the lobe of the thyroid which harbors the cancer, PLUS, removal of most or all of the other side.

Medullary cancer of the thyroid is significantly less common, but has a worse prognosis. Medullary cancers tend to spread to large numbers of lymph nodes very early on, and therefore requires a much more aggressive operation than does the more localized cancers such as papillary and follicular. This cancer requires complete thyroid removal PLUS a dissection to remove the lymph nodes of the front and sides of the neck.

The least common type of thyroid cancer is anaplastic which has a very poor prognosis...it tends to be found after it has spread and is not cured in most cases. Often an operation cannot remove all the tumor.