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In very disappointing news to start the 2023 season, Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with breast and throat cancer, 13 years after radiation treatment allowed her to make a full recovery from breast cancer.
As broken by British newspaper The Times, an enlarged lymph node was found on the 18-time Grand Slam champion's neck earlier in November. During the tests that were conducted to analyze this, a suspicious mass was found in her breast, which was then found to be cancer.
Albeit serious, the cancer is fixable as per the American's own admission, who reportedly spoke to the paper. Navratilova hoped for a favorable outcome, vowing to fight the cancer with all she's got in the meantime.
“This double whammy is serious but still fixable,” Martina Navratilova said in a statement. “I’m hoping for a favorable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.”
"The day I was told I had breast cancer was my own personal 9/11" - Martina Navratilova on her first cancer diagnosis
Speaking to People magazine about her first cancer diagnosis back in 2010, Martina Navratilova admitted that she cried after hearing the news, lamenting how it came out of nowhere. She had thought that she was in control of her body up until that point.
"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," Navratilova said.
At the same time, the former World No. 1 considered herself fortunate, adding that she had gone four years without a regular health check-up and things could have gotten much worse for her had the diagnosis come just a year later.
"I let it slide. Everyone gets busy, but don't make excuses," Martina Navratilova said. "I stay in shape and eat right, and it happened to me. Another year and I could have been in big trouble."
The 18-time Grand Slam champion went on to call the fight with cancer her "own personal 9/11", remarking that it was a huge wake-up call for her that forced her to come to terms with the nature of the disease.
"The day I was told I had breast cancer was my own personal 9/11. I was completely shocked and the news knocked the wind out of me. This is a huge wake-up call for me and just goes to show no matter how much you watch what you eat or exercise, you just never know," Navratilova said.
