Martina Navratilova, 66, announces she is cancer free after battling throat and breast cancer since January
- Navratilova was diagnosed with throat cancer, then breast cancer this year
- She felt well enough in March to return to her TV job with the Tennis Channel
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Martina Navratilova says she is cancer free.
THE tennis Hall of Famer announced the news Monday tweeted after what she said was a full day of testing at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
“Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians, etc. What a relief,” she wrote.
Navratilova, 66, revealed she was diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer in January and will begin treatment that month.
She had been diagnosed with non-invasive breast cancer in 2010 and had undergone a lumpectomy.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion had noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck in November and a biopsy revealed early-stage throat cancer.
Martina Navratilova announced on Twitter that she was cured of cancer after tests in New York
Navratilova has been back in public life since March, with her return to the Tennis Channel
In May, Navratilova said she was “OK” in a ceremony at the Italian Open
But Navratilova felt good enough to return to television work with the Tennis Channel at the Miami Open in March.
She spoke at the Italian Open in May about her battle with illness as she accepted the “Racchetta d’Oro” (Golden Racket) award for her contribution to the sport.
“I went through a very difficult year but now I’m fine,” Navratilova said at the time.
Navratilova, 66, said in January her prognosis was good after noticing an enlarged lymph node in her neck at the WTA Finals in Texas last November. A biopsy showed the results of early-stage throat cancer.
As Navratilova was undergoing tests on her throat, she said, unrelated early-stage breast cancer was discovered.
Navratilova returned to work as a TV analyst at Tennis Channel in March, when in an interview with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan she said doctors told her that, “as far as they know, I haven’t cancer,” and she should be “good to go” after further radiation therapy.
She has won 59 Grand Slam titles in total, including 31 in women’s doubles and 10 in mixed doubles.
The last was a mixed doubles championship with Bob Bryan at the 2006 US Open, a month before his 50th birthday.
