Martina Navratilova has revealed that she has been diagnosed with both throat and breast cancer after discovering a swollen lymph node in her neck in November last year.
The 66-year-old is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, having won Wimbledon a record total of nine times. Today (January 2) she made the announcement that she had been diagnosed with two forms of cancer.
Navratilova, a Czech-born American who is married to 50-year-old former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, had since said: "This double whammy is serious but still fixable [...] I'm hoping for a favorable outcome.
"It's going to stink for a while but I'll fight with all I have got."
The shock diagnosis comes just two years after she was given the all-clear from breast cancer following radiation treatment, The Daily Mail reported.
Navratilova's representative has released a statement about her diagnosis, saying: "Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with stage one throat cancer. The prognosis is good and Martina will start her treatment this month.
"The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment. Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn't go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer."
"At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer. Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes. Martina won't be covering the Australian Open for Tennis Channel from their studio but hopes to be able to join in from time to time by Zoom," the statement concluded.
As one of the first openly gay sports figures, Navratilova won nine Wimbledon singles titles between 1978 and 1990. She eventually retired from the sport in 2006 after her final Grand Slam - becoming the oldest tennis player to ever win a Grand Slam title during that match.
In the years since her retirement, she has become a prominent commentator of the sport, working significantly with the BBC to cover Wimbledon.
We wish Navratilova the very best at this time.