The tennis Hall of Famer announced the news Monday on Twitter after what she said was a full day of tests at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. she wrote ,“Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians etc what a relief”.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion had noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck in November and a biopsy revealed the early stage throat cancer. But Navratilova felt well enough to return to her TV work with the Tennis Channel by the Miami Open in March.
Navratilova, 66, revealed she had been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer in January and that she would begin treatment that month. She had been diagnosed with a noninvasive form of breast cancer in 2010 and had a lumpectomy.
She spoke at the Italian Open back in May about her battle with the disease as she accepted the ‘Racchetta d’Oro’ (Golden Racket) award for her contributions to the sport. ‘I’ve gone through a very difficult year but now I’m OK,’ Navratilova at the time.
The 66-year-old Navratilova said in January that her prognosis was good after noticing an enlarged lymph node in her neck at the WTA Finals in Texas last November. A biopsy showed results of early stage throat cancer.
While Navratilova was undergoing tests on her throat, she said, the unrelated, early stage breast cancer was discovered. She won 59 Grand Slam titles overall, including 31 in women’s doubles and 10 in mixed doubles.
Navratilova returned to her work as a TV analyst at Tennis Channel in March, when in an interview with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan, she said she was told by doctors that, ‘as far as they know, I’m cancer-free,’ and she should be ‘good to go’ after some additional radiation treatment. The last was a mixed doubles championship with Bob Bryan at the 2006 U.S. Open, a month shy of her 50th birthday.
