Former top-ranked tennis star Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with two unrelated types of cancer, she revealed Monday.
Navratilova has Stage 1 throat cancer and early-stage breast cancer and is set to begin treatment this month, according to Tennis.com.
“This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome,” the 66-year-old said. “It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all have I got.”
Navratilova’s prognoses for both types of cancer are considered strong. Doctors discovered Navratilova had breast cancer during a throat examination.
The diagnoses come more than a decade after Navratilova battled non-invasive breast cancer in 2010. She was determined to be cancer-free six months after that diagnosis, which required a lumpectomy and radiation therapy.
The Prague-born Navratilova won 18 major singles championships and 31 major doubles titles during her career and is the only player ever to be ranked No. 1 in both categories for more than 200 weeks. Her nine singles titles and seven doubles titles at Wimbledon are both tournament records.
Navratilova retired from professional tennis in 2006 after winning the mixed doubles event at the 2006 U.S. Open at age 49. She remains the oldest player ever to win a major championship.
“I really didn’t talk much about breast cancer before I had it,” Navratilova told People in 2010 following her first fight with the disease. “Now, I’m approached by women and we share our stories. It’s encouraging to see that there’s life after cancer.”
