The legendary tennis player Martina Navratilova announced that she is “cancer free” after, just a few months ago, she feared “she would not make it to next Christmas”.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion, who previously had another breast cancer in 2010, was diagnosed with two tumors late last year.
Navratilova, 66, said that these tumors, in the throat and breast, were detected at an early stage. He began his treatment at the end of January in New York.
“As far as (the doctors) know, I am cancer-free,” the tennis player told Piers Morgan’s TalkTV program.
“I still have the right breast to deal with and I’ll probably have to have radiation. But it’ll only take a couple of weeks and that doesn’t even count,” she explained. And about this she said that it was a rather preventive treatment. “It’s 99% solvable.”
The detection
Navratilova noticed a larger than normal lymph node in her neck during the November WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.
A subsequent biopsy revealed that he had stage one throat cancer.
During tests, a lump also appeared in her breast that was later diagnosed as an unrelated cancer.
The nine-time Wimbledon champion said she felt “helpless” after being diagnosed with cancer in 2010, but decided to go public with the news to help other women suffering from similar health problems.
With this new diagnosis the feeling was different.
“For 3 days I was in absolute panic. I thought maybe I wouldn’t make it to next Christmas”he told Morgan.
And after that big scare, he started thinking about “the wish list I wanted to do.”
“This may sound very superficial, but I was like… ok, what amazing car would I want to drive if I only lived one more year?”
When she made the announcement in January, Navratilova received a multitude of messages of encouragement and affection, something that she thanked for on social networks.
She also highlighted that her friend and Former rival Chris Evert, who was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2021, was “very” supportive during her treatment.
Both, who dominated women’s tennis during the 1970s and 1980s, received their cancer treatment at the same New York clinic.
“Our careers have always been intertwined and now our path is going this way. It’s not an invention, it’s that the parallels are incredible: the same place, even some nurses (who have treated us) are the same,” said the tennis player.
“Chris has been a star, simple as that. She has supported me in this as much as I supported her a year ago.”
Navratilova, of Czech and American nationality, retired from tennis after a 32-year career in which she added 59 Grand Slam titles in the three modalities (individual, women’s doubles and mixed doubles).
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-65038821, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-03-22 12:20:06
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