After receiving the all-clear, the tennis champion recently observed, “It’s still hanging over your shoulder, no matter what.”
The tennis icon Martina Navratilova recently announced that she was cancer-free, but her struggle with the illness had a negative physical and psychological impact.
Navratilova, 66, discussed her health since receiving a throat and breast cancer diagnosis at the end of last year during an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday. She was joined by her wife, Real Housewives of Miami actress Julia Lemigova.
So, she added, “I was diagnosed in early December and just recently received the all-clear, so it really has been seven months of agony, emotionally and physically.
The tennis champion said, “It’s still hanging over your shoulder, no matter what,” after being given the all-clear. Navratilova continued by claiming that although her condition was largely treatable, the proton radiation therapy she had was “horrendous.”
She told the magazine, “Radiation and chemotherapy beat me up.” Physically, it was horrible. It’s still dangling over your shoulder, whatever happens. There is no getting around that. Although I felt completely helpless, at least I had mental control. Julia, however, was helpless in this circumstance. She had initially been afraid. Both of us were afraid.
Lemigova, who was at the time filming RHOM but “would come in and out” to be with her, provided her with support. “Of course, [friend and former tennis player] Chris Evert and I had essentially gone through the same thing and supported each other,” she continued.
Navratilova added that she lost about 25 pounds while competing. Although it was challenging, I am now cancer-free, so knock on wood.
Lemigova claimed during the interview that the incident altered her outlook on life. “A catastrophe like this teaches you to view life differently. Take life as it comes and savor each moment. With Martina, we’re carrying that out. Every day, we give thanks to God and express our gratitude, and we perceive life totally differently.
Following “a day full of tests at Sloan Kettering,” Navratilova praised “all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians, etc.” on Twitter last month.
She tweeted, “What a relief,” along with the hashtags “#byebyecancer:) and yes, #f—cancer!!!” while grinning.
Navratilova said 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.”
Lemigova claimed to have been by Navratilova’s side when she received the all-clear in a March interview. “I stood at her side through good, bad, and ugly. So it goes without saying that I was present when she received her cancer diagnosis. Naturally, I was there when she got the good news. I had no other option. On that day, we had a celebration.
In a Washington Post article published earlier this month, former tennis rivals Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert talked about their friendship and recent cancer diagnoses. Evert recalled that when she initially learned she had ovarian cancer, Martina was among the first people she told. When I called her, “It felt like I was coming home.”
Navratilova received a breast cancer diagnosis 13 years ago, and in 2010 she received the all-clear. When asked about her original diagnosis, Navratilova said, “It absolutely hit me on my ass. Before something happens, I feel like I have complete control over my life and my body.
