18-time Grand slam tennis champion and lesbian icon, Martina Navratilova, has received a double diagnosis of throat cancer and breast cancer. In true athlete fashion, the 66-year-old Czech-American is ready to take on treatment.
“This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome,” Navratilova said, to Tennis.com, about the double diagnosis. “It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all have I got.”
In a statement on her website, Navratilova announced that both cancer diagnoses are “in their early stages with great outcomes.” The throat cancer is stage one, she said, comforting fans that “the prognosis is good and I will start treatment this month.”
“The [throat] cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment,” she added. “I noticed an enlarged lymph node in [my] neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage 1 throat cancer.”
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the leading causes of throat cancer. It is sexually transmitted and, if it lingers long enough, can turn cancerous. This is your reminder, as a lesbian or bisexual woman, that sexual activity between females can lead to serious sexually transmitted infections and subsequent health issues. Get checked.
While undergoing tests for throat cancer, a suspicious lump was found in Navratilova’s breast, which was also diagnosed to be cancerous. Doctors said it was “completely unrelated to the throat cancer.”
Fortunately, the breast cancer was caught sooner than it would have been without the throat tests. But this isn’t Navratilova’s first rodeo: she “was found to have noninvasive breast cancer in 2010 and underwent a lumpectomy and six weeks radiation treatment,” according to the NY Times.
“I really didn’t talk much about breast cancer before I had it,” Navratilova told PEOPLE. “Now, I’m approached by women and we share our stories. It’s encouraging to see that there’s life after cancer.”
In 1981, like many famous lesbians of the past, including fellow tennis champ Billie Jean King, Navratilova was outed. Her biographer, Johnette Howard, wrote on WTA’s website: “…once she was outed, people wanted her to keep quiet, stay closeted, not reveal her true self. She refused to be cowed then, or since.”
As many of us with loved ones who have passed from cancer know, it doesn’t play favorites and willpower can only do so much. While the future is never guaranteed, Natavrilova’s personal and professional hardships inevitably make for a great battler.
Forget Federer and Nadal, take a look at Navratilova’s stats: on top of the 18 major singles titles, she won 31 major women’s doubles titles in her tennis career, as well as 10 major mixed doubles titles, for a combined tidal of 59 major titles.
“Since 1968 when the Open Era began, no male or female player won more singles tournaments than Navratilova (167), doubles events (177), or matches (2,189),” According to Tennis Fame.
There are no questions surrounding why Billie Jean King says that Navratilova is “the greatest singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player who ever lived.”
The Tennis Channel put it best: “Simple rule: when Martina fights, she wins, and she again has our full support and whatever she needs from us as she faces and ultimately defeats this challenge. We know she will.”
