West News Wire: The tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been given a “double whammy” diagnosis of breast and throat cancer, which she vows to fight with all her strength.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and International Tennis Hall of Fame member stated her prognosis is positive and she will begin treatment this month in a statement sent by her agent on Monday.
The 66-year-old Navratilova, who is regarded as one of the best tennis players of all time, indicated that the double whammy was serious but yet treatable.
It will stink for a while, but I’ll fight tooth and nail, she vowed.
The cancer was first discovered in early November during the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) finals when Navratilova noticed a swelling in her neck that did not go down, said her representative, Mary Greenham.
“When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer,” Greenham said.
“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.
“Both of these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes.”
It is not the first time the Czech-American tennis star has been diagnosed with cancer in 2010 she had breast cancer but was assessed as being clear six months later.
As news of her new diagnosis broke on Monday, some politicians, athletes, and others sent their well-wishes to Navratilova on a successful recovery.
“[Navratilova] is as brave as she is strong,” another tennis trailblazer, Billie Jean King, wrote on Twitter. “She has fought this battle before, and she is in our thoughts and prayers.”
Navratilova’s powerful serve and agility at the net made her the dominant payer of her era as she picked up a total of 59 Major titles 31 doubles and 10 mixed doubles, in addition to her 18 singles titles.
Her record at Wimbledon is unparalleled, her nine singles titles more than anyone else; Roger Federer won eight men’s titles while Serena Williams won the women’s title seven times.
Navratilova originally retired in 1994, after a record 167 singles titles and 331 weeks at number one in the WTA rankings, but returned to the tour to play doubles in 2000 and occasionally competed in singles, too.
Navratilova, who came out as gay in the 1980s and is an ardent defender of LGBTQ rights, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000 and has worked as a TV analyst in recent years.
On Monday, Greenham said that Navratilova would not travel to Melbourne for the January 16-29 Australian Open but hoped to contribute to the broadcasts remotely.
