Martina Navratilova openly talks about her health.
Although the former athlete announced in March that she was cancer-free, she reflected on her experience dealing with stage 1 throat and breast cancer during a recent appearance on Today show.
“The first one diagnosed was throat cancer, and then when they were looking for exactly where it was, that’s when they also found a lump on my breast,” she explained on Monday. “I knew it was cancer because it lit up in the MRI. I said, great, I got a double whammy.”
Martina Navratilova says she does not have cancer: ‘Ready’
PEOPLE confirmed that the tennis star received two diagnoses after seeking medical attention in January for an enlarged lymph node in her neck. The revelation comes years after Navratilova was first diagnosed with breast cancer and declared cancer-free in 2010.
At the time, the diagnosis was a non-invasive form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS. Navratilova shared that her recent diagnoses were “two completely different cancers unrelated to the first one” and explained that she had been diligently going to check-ups.
“Physically, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through,” she added. “I almost get PTSD when I come to New York (because) there were weeks of treatment here.”
‘RHOM’ star Julia Lemig’s ‘Proud’ Martina Navratilova beat cancer diagnosis: ‘Surprises me’
Navratilova is married to The Real Housewives of Miami star Julia Lemigova, who previously revealed to PEOPLE that she has a new outlook on life after her wife’s health journey.
“After your wife is diagnosed with two cancers, it really changes your perspective. We all have to be strong for her. There’s no time to sit around and cry,” Lemigova, 51, previously told PEOPLE.
Julija Lemigova and Martina Navratilova. John Lamparski/Getty
“I firmly believe that when life strikes you with tragedy, no matter how great the tragedy, you basically have two choices,” she added. “You submit, or you refuse and rebel. All my life I have been, I am a rebel in a way and I always fight back. So this is just one of those great tragedies that have hit our family. And there is no time or space to sit down and cry because that’s not going to help. It’s just going to make things worse.”
After Navratilova was cured of cancer, Lemigova said in a separate interview with PEOPLE that she was “so proud.”
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“I don’t even have words to express how proud I am of my champion as she played singles against the most dangerous doubles partners she has ever faced in her life, and beat them both triumphantly,” she said in March. – She delights me every day.
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Source: HIS Education