Tennis great Martina Navratilova says she is “cancer-free” after fearing she “would not see next Christmas”.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, who previously had breast cancer in 2010, was diagnosed with throat and breast cancer late last year.
In January, she said both cancers had been caught at an early stage.
“As far as they [the doctors] know I’m cancer-free,” the 66-year-old said on Piers Morgan’s TalkTV show on Tuesday.
“I still need to deal with the right breast, probably need to have radiation but that’s a couple of weeks and that doesn’t even count.
“That’s more preventative than anything else. I should be good to go. It’s 99% solvable.”
Navratilova noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during November’s WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.
A subsequent biopsy revealed stage one throat cancer.
During the tests, a lump was also discovered in her breast, which was later diagnosed as an unrelated cancer.
“I was in a total panic for three days thinking I may not see next Christmas,” she told Morgan.
“The bucket list came into my mind of all the things I wanted to do.
“And this may sound really shallow, but I was like, ‘OK, which kick-ass car do I really want to drive if I live like a year’?'”
Navratilova said her friend and former rival Chris Evert, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2021, supported her “so much” through her treatment.
The pair, who dominated women’s tennis during the 1970s and 80s, received cancer treatment in the same New York clinic.
“Our careers are always intertwined and then we follow each other this way,” Navratilova said.
“You can’t just make it up. The parallels are unbelievable. Same place. Some of the same nurses.
“Chris has been just a star. She has supported me so much through this as I supported her a year ago.”
Source – BBC Sport
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