The tennis champ recently received the all-clear, but he added, “It’s still hanging over your shoulder, no matter what.”
Martina Navratilova, a legendary tennis player, recently declared herself cancer-free, but her illness had a profound psychological and physical toll.
Navratilova appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday, where she spoke with her wife, Real Housewives of Miami actress Julia Lemigova, about the 66-year-old’s health following a diagnosis of throat and breast cancer at the end of last year.
It has been seven months of emotional and physical hell for me, she said, adding that I was diagnosed in early December and just recently received the all-clear.
The tennis champion remarked after being given the all-clear, “It’s still hanging over your shoulder, no matter what.”. The treatment, which included proton radiation therapy, was “horrendous,” Navratilova continued, even though her disease was largely curable. ”.
She said to the magazine, “Chemotherapy and radiation — it beat me up.”. “It was terribly brutal physically. It still hangs over your shoulder, no matter what happens. There’s no escaping it. Although I felt completely helpless, at least I had mental control. However, Julia couldn’t do anything about her predicament.
She had been terrified at first. Both of us were terrified. ”.
Lemigova, who was at the time filming RHOM but “would come in and out” to be with her, provided her with support. Of course, she continued, “[friend and former tennis player] Chris Evert and I had essentially experienced the same thing and supported each other.”.
Navratilova added that she lost close to 25 pounds while competing. “It’s been challenging, but, knock on wood, I’m cancer-free now. ”.
During the interview, Lemigova claimed that the incident changed the way she saw the world. “A tragedy like this teaches you to view life differently. Take life as it comes and savor each moment. We’re dealing with Martina in a similar manner. Every day we give thanks to God and express our gratitude, and as a result, we view life entirely differently.”.
Thank you to “all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians, etc.,” said Navratilova. Following “a day full of tests at Sloan Kettering,” the nine-time Wimbledon champion tweeted on Twitter last month. With a smile and the hashtags “byebyecancer:) and yes, f—cancer!!!,” she tweeted, “What a relief.”.
Navratilova acknowledged that despite being informed that her condition was “very” treatable, she was “in a total panic for three days thinking I might not see next Christmas. ”.
In a March interview, Lemigova recalled being by Navratilova’s side when she received the all-clear. “Throughout the good, bad, and ugly, I was there for her. Therefore, it is no secret that I was present when she received her cancer diagnosis. Of course I was there with her when she got the good news. I had no other option. We had a celebration on that particular day.”
In a Washington Post article published earlier this month, former tennis rivals Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert discussed their friendship and recent cancer diagnoses. Evert remembered that Martina was one of the first people she told when she learned she had ovarian cancer. It felt like I was going home when I called her.
Navratilova was given the all-clear in 2010—13 years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. According to Navratilova, she said her initial diagnosis, “really knocked me on my ass. I suddenly lose control of my life and my body after feeling as though I had complete control before. ”.
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