After battling it out on the pro tennis circuit for almost 30 years, Martina Navratilova has a new battle on her hands. A report says that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. However, her prognosis is said to be excellent.
People magazine’s website posted a story Wednesday quoting Navratilova saying “I cried” after being informed of the diagnosis following a routine mammogram.
The report says the 53-year-old Navratilova had a lumpectomy and will begin six weeks of radiation therapy next month. It added that the nine-time Wimbledon women’s singles champion was diagnosed with a non-invasive form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS.
A surgeon at UC San Francisco says DCIS strikes almost 70,000 American women a year and that “there’s only a one-per cent chance of anyone with this diagnosis would die of breast cancer.”
Navratilova holds 167 singles titles, more than any other male or female player, and 177 doubles titles. She won 17 Grand Slam singles titles, including six in a row at Wimbledon from 1982-1987, and won at least one Tour event a year for 21 consecutive years. She was ranked No. 1 for a total of 331 weeks on nine different occasions.
Here’s hoping this will be one more battle Navratilova will win.
