Martina Navratilova Diagnosed With Throat And Breast Cancer At 66

The legendary tennis star Martina Navratilova has made the devastating announcement that she’s been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer at the age of 66. 

Navratilova’s Cancer Diagnosis

Daily Mail reported that Navratilova revealed that she was diagnosed back in November after she discovered a swollen lymph node in her neck.

“This double whammy is serious but still fixable,” she said. “I’m hoping for a favorable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.”

Navratilova’s representative later released a statement describing her prognosis as “good.”

“Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with stage one throat cancer,” the statement read. “The prognosis is good and Martina will start her treatment this month.”

“The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment,” the statement added. “Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer.”

“At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer,” the representative concluded. “Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes. Martina won’t be covering the Australian Open for Tennis Channel from their studio but hopes to be able to join in from time to time by Zoom.”

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Navratilova’s Previous Cancer Battle

Navratilova previously beat a non-invasive form of breast cancer back in 2010 after undergoing radiation treatment. 

“You realize your life can change in a nanosecond, so that seize the day thing definitely applies,” she once said of this cancer battle, according to People Magazine. “Being a positive person helped a lot, and surround yourself with positive people as well.”

Navratilova also admitted that she “cried” when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. 

“It knocked me on my ass, really. I feel so in control of my life and my body, and then this comes, and it’s completely out of my hands,” she said. 

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Navratilova’s Career

Born in the Czech Republic, Navratilova won nine Wimbledon singles titles between 1978 and 1990, and she won nine other grand slam titles during her career as well. She was No. 1 in the world for 332 weeks and won 59 major titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles competitions, according to Fox News. Navratilova was also inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame back in 2000.

“What I’m most proud of is I won singles and doubles in the same event 80 times,” she once said of her Wimbledon success.

Navratilova has been married to Julia Lemigova, a 50-year-old model who is currently a Housewife on “The Real Housewives of Miami,” since 2014. She is also a mother to Lemigova’s 16 and 11 year-old daughters from a previous relationship. 

Getting diagnosed with one type of cancer is devastating enough, so we can’t imagine what Navratilova is going through after finding out that she has two forms of the disease. If there’s one thing that Navratilova has shown herself to be, it’s a fighter, so we pray that she is able to defeat each of the cancers that she has been hit with.