1/3
Tennis great Martina Navratilova on Monday announced she is facing two cancer diagnoses. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 2 (UPI) — Tennis and women’s sports pioneer Martina Navratilova announced Monday she has been diagnosed with stage-1 breast cancer and stage-1 throat cancer. A statement from the sports legend confirmed the diagnosis, but the sports legend remained upbeat, saying, “This double whammy is serious but still fixable. Advertisement
“I’m hoping for a favorable outcome,” he said. “It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all have I got.”
The nine-time Wimbledon champion sought testing for an enlarged lymph node in her neck in November, which led to the discovery of throat cancer. Soon after, a curable form of breast cancer, human papillomavirus, was also discovered.
She is expected to begin treatment later this month.
This is not the first time Navratilova has faced cancer. In 2010, she successfully underwent surgery and radiation treatment for a form of non-invasive breast cancer. Later that year she announced she was cancer-free.
Navratilova is one of the greatest athletes in tennis history, winning 167 singles championships, including 59 Grand Slam titles and winning Wimbledon a record nine times. She also won the U.S. open four times, the Australian Open three times and the French Open twice. She is a seven-time player of the year and earned more than $21 million in prize money throughout her nearly four-decade career.
Advertisement
She continues to stay close to the world of tennis, serving as an analyst for the Tennis Channel. She said she will be stepping away from covering the Australian Open as she enters treatment.
Tennis, women’s sports pioneer Martina Navratilova diagnosed with cancer
- Advertisment - 