Martina Navratilova, right, with Nancy Leibermann, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Nancy Liebermann Charities Dream Ball Gala in Dallas in 2022.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with two forms of cancer — throat cancer and breast cancer — nearly two months after discovering an enlarged lymph node in her neck in early November, according to numerous news reports.
Navratilova, who previously lived in Fort Worth, first found the enlarged lymph node when she was in Fort Worth at the World Tennis Association Finals as an ambassador for the WTA Tour. After a biopsy on the lump in her neck, she was diagnosed with stage 1 throat cancer, and it was while she was undergoing throat tests that doctors found a lump in her breast that was later diagnosed as breast cancer.
This is the tennis star’s second battle with breast cancer. She was first diagnosed 13 years ago after a routine mammogram and underwent radiation treatment after having the tumor surgically removed.
Navratilova told the UK-based Times she is optimistic about her outcome, noting that both cancers are in the early stages and saying that the dual diagnoses are a “double whammy” that is “serious but still fixable. … It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all I’ve got.”
Navratilova lives in Miami with her wife, Russian-born former model Julia Lemigova, one of the stars of Real Housewives of Miami. She is expected to start treatment later this month.
— Tammye Nash
