“Quitting is not in my DNA” – Martina Navratilova says she is cancer-free
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion was diagnosed with throat and breast cancers in January this year
Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 2019
Image Credit: Action Plus / Panoramic
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has said that she is cancer-free, in an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV that is set to air on Tuesday.
The nine-time Wimbledon singles champion, who is often considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, was diagnosed with throat and breast cancers in January this year. In the interview, she speaks about how growing up in the Communist regime in then Czechoslovakia made her tough.
“Quitting is not in my DNA.. As far as they know I’m cancer-free,” the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion told Morgan.
The Czech-born American said she was afraid she may not survive till Christmas this year and even made a bucket list of things she wanted to.
“I was in a total panic for three days thinking I may not see next Christmas,” she said. “The bucket list came into my mind of all the things I wanted to do. And this may sound really shallow, but I was like, OK, ‘which kick-ass car do I really want to drive if I live like a year?’”
66-year-old Navratilova also revealed that she and her wife, Julia Lemigova, were forced to postpone their plans to adopt a child due to her health condition.
This was Navratilova’s second battle with cancer, having been diagnosed and then overcome breast cancer in 2010.
Besides 18 Majors in singles, Navratilova also won 41 doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slams for a total of 59 Majors, and won 167 singles and 177 doubles titles overall.
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