Tennis Legend Martina Navratilova Diagnosed With Throat, Breast Cancer

TUESDAY, Jan. 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who won 59 grand slam titles in her career, announced Monday that she has both stage 1 breast cancer and throat cancer.

Navratilova, 66, first found an enlarged lymph node in her neck last fall, her agent Mary Greenham told CNN.

That happened sometime between Oct. 31 and Nov. 7 during the during the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.

Later, during throat tests, doctors found a suspicious spot in one of Navratilova’s breasts, which also turned out to be cancer, Greenham said, noting great prognosis in both cases.

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

This is the second bout of breast cancer for the tennis legend, who was previously treated for the disease in 2010.

Navratilova had been expected to cover the upcoming Australian Open from the Tennis Channel studio, CNN reported. She hopes instead to join occasionally by Zoom, Greenham said.

Navratilova has worked as a coach, broadcaster and ambassador for the WTA Tour in the years since she retired from playing professionally. During her tennis career, she won 18 grand slam singles titles, 31 grand slam doubles titles and 10 grand slam mixed doubles titles, CNN reported.

She has a WTA Tour all-time record of 167 titles. Navratilova retired at 38 from singles, but played doubles into her 40s.

Navratilova has also worked to raise awareness of preventive checkups for disease, including breast cancer, CNN reported.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more on throat cancer.

SOURCE: CNN