Martina Navratilova Diagnosed With Throat & Breast Cancer: What We Know

Tennis star Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.

Tennis star and 18-time winner of the Grand Slam singles, Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.

(Photo: Garima Sadhwani/FIT)

Tennis star and 18-time winner of the Grand Slam singles, Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer. 

Navratilova (66) also battled breast cancer in 2010 and had to undergo radiation therapy and surgery for it at the time.

Caught at Early Stage: The tennis player said that both cancers have, fortunately, been diagnosed at early stages and she’ll be starting treatment for them in the later weeks of January in New York. 

‘Not Done Yet’: After the news broke out, Navratilova took to Twitter to say, “Thank you all for your support and I am not done yet.”

The double whammy is serious, but fixable, and I'm hoping for a favourable outcome. It's going to stink for a while, but I'll fight with all I have got.

Martina Navratilova

The Diagnosis: In November during the WTA Finals, Navratilova had found an enlarged lymph node on her neck. On consultation, it turned out to be stage one throat cancer. She also had a lump in her breast which also was found to be cancerous.

A statement from the tennis star read, “The cancer type is HPV (human papillomavirus) and this particular type responds really well to treatment. Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes.”

What next? The nine-time Wimbledon champion was set to cover the Australian Open in Melbourne, but since she’ll be starting her treatment in New York, she’ll join the tournament virtually.