WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , recovering from pancreatic cancer surgery , plans to be back on the bench when the Supreme Court resumes oral arguments in 17 days . Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also had surgery for colorectal cancer in September 1999 . Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Friday that the 75-year-old justice is expected to be on hand for the next public session February 23 , when the court will hear appeals in two cases . Ginsburg remains hospitalized at New York 's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center a day after undergoing surgery for the disease . Sources close to Ginsburg say that she continues to do well after surgery and that doctors and family remain cautiously optimistic . Those sources said she was resting comfortably and speaking with her staff about the court 's upcoming caseload . Watch friends talk about Ginsburg 's resilience » . The justice could be released from the hospital next week . A court statement Thursday said she will probably remain in the hospital for seven to 10 days , according to her attending surgeon , Dr. Murray Brennan . `` Justice Ginsburg had no symptoms prior to the incidental discovery of the lesion during a routine annual check-up in late January at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda , Maryland , '' the court said . The justices are on a month-long recess but return for a closed door conference February 20 . There is no word on whether Ginsburg will attend that meeting , among just the nine members of the court , to go over pending appeals . President Obama was hoping to speak with Ginsburg by phone later Friday , said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs . Ginsburg underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in September 1999 . Court sources said she continued to work on pending cases while in her hospital bed and her subsequent recovery . Less than a month later , she appeared in public to give a speech and said , `` I am still mending but have progressed steadily . '' She never missed a day on the bench . The Brooklyn , New York , native has been on the federal bench since 1980 , the past 15 on the high court , where she is the he only female justice .
Justice Murray Brennan expects to return to the bench by 1999-2000 . The only woman on CNN is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer . It is her second bout with cancer . She was treated for colon cancer in February 23 .