Tennis legend Martina Navratilova says she is hoping for a “favourable outcome” after being diagnosed with breast and throat cancer.
Martina Navratilova : cancer | does smoke | net worth
Navratilova was ranked as the world No. 1 in singles for a total of 332 weeks (second only to Steffi Graf), and for a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both disciplines for over 200 weeks.
She won 167 top-level singles titles and 177 doubles titles, both the Open Era records.
She won a record six consecutive singles majors across 1983 and 1984 while simultaneously winning the Grand Slam in doubles.
Navratilova claims the best professional season winning percentage, 98.8% in 1983 (going 98–1 for the season), and the longest all-surface winning streak of 74 straight match wins.
Martina Navratilova cancer
Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with both throat and breast cancer.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, who previously had breast cancer in 2010, will start treatment in New York later this month.
Navratilova, 66, said both cancers had been caught at an early stage.
“The double whammy is serious, but fixable, and I’m hoping for a favourable outcome,” she said. “It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all I have got.”
Navratilova noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during November’s WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.
A subsequent biopsy revealed stage one throat cancer.
During the tests, a lump was also discovered in her breast, which was later diagnosed as an unrelated cancer.
“Both of these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes,” Navratilova’s representative Mary Greenham added.
Navratilova was due to cover this month’s Australian Open from the Tennis Channel studio in Melbourne, but will instead make some occasional remote appearances.
The nine-time Wimbledon singles champion said she felt “helpless” after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, but decided to go public with the news to help other women suffering similar health problems.
Does Martina Navratilova smoke
Billie Jean King led the support for Martina Navratilova tonight as she called the tennis legend ‘as brave as she is strong’ following her throat and breast cancer diagnosis.
Navratilova, Wimbledon’s greatest ever singles champion, announced that doctors had diagnosed her with two forms of cancer after she discovered a swollen lymph node in her neck in November.
Martina Navratilova does not smoke.
Throat cancer is a general term that describes several different types of cancer that start in the throat (pharynx) or voice box (larynx).
Symptoms include ear pain or a sore throat, a lump in the neck, difficulty swallowing, change in your voice or speech, unexplained weight loss, a cough, shortness of breath and a feeling of something stuck in the throat.
It can be caused by a range of risk factors including smoking, drinking alcohol and viral infections, including human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus.
‘She has fought this battle before, and she is in our thoughts and prayers.’
Czech-born American Navratilova, who is married to former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, 50, said: ‘I’m hoping for a favourable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.’
The former tennis world number one’s diagnosis comes after she was given the all-clear from a non-invasive form of breast cancer in 2010 following radiation treatment.
Navratilova, who won 59 grand slam singles and doubles titles in her 40-year career, will not travel to this month’s Australian Open, where she was intending to work as a TV pundit.
But a statement from her representative described the prognosis as ‘good’.
Net worth
Martina Navratilova is a Czech-American tennis player and coach who is considered to be among the best female tennis players of all time. Martina Navratilova has a net worth of $25 million.