Martina Navratilova tells of her anguish at shock double cancer diagnosis trends now
Martina Navratilova has emotionally opened up about her battle with cancer and how her family and friends in tennis rallied around her after her shock diagnosis.
The tennis legend revealed she had been left in tears after realising she might have a tumour while doctors were taking samples from her breast in an interview on Talk TV's Piers Morgan Uncensored tonight.
Describing her battle with the disease as the 'hardest thing' she's ever had to go through, the 59-time Grand Slam winner said her there were times she feared she would not see next Christmas.
The 66-year-old revealed she was overwhelmed by support from her the likes of Jimmy Connors, Sue Barker and her great rival Chris Evert, adding that the last few months have brought her and her wife Julia 'closer together'.
However, she has now confirmed she's all clear of the disease after her fight, saying 'quitting is just not in my DNA' and breaking down in tears as she recalled the moment she rang a bell in the hospital to signify she was cancer-free.
Martina Navratoliva broke down as she revealed the impact her double cancer diagnosis had had on her life
The tennis legend pictured with her wife Julia Lemigova (left) and Talk TV presenter Piers Morgan (centre)
The tennis ace, who had a career spanning four decades, announced she had been diagnosed with cancer at the start of the year, sparking an avalanche of support.
She confirmed that her friends in the tennis world sent her songs and personalised messages to help her get through the battle with the disease.
These included Lindsay Davenport, Clare Balding, Billie Jean King, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver and her great rival Chris Evert, who sent her Lean On Me by Bill Withers.
Navratilova said: 'I couldn't even read that stuff, when Mary [my agent] first sent it to me I just started crying and I'm crying now. God I'm such a softie.
'I couldn't read it [all] as I would definitely be bawling my eyes out, so one day at a time I read a little bit from what everybody wrote because it was so moving.
'What they said to me personally outside the song was so meaningful. You don't realise how much you mean to people until they do something like that.'
She added that the experience had brought her and her wife, Julia Lemigova, 'closer together' and that her wife was there 'all the way'.
She told Morgan: 'There was a look in Julia's face that I had never seen before, because she was scared. We were both scared.'
Lemigova said: 'We kind of re-bonded, reconnected and a re-evaluation of values happened and what's important and what we want to do.'
Navratilova had previously beaten breast cancer in 2010, but said she feared she might not see Christmas 2023 after it returned.
She confirmed she was diagnosed after doctors found an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth in November, with tests later confirming she had both breast and throat cancer.
The tennis legend emotionally revealed she cried after realising she had breast cancer for the second time.
She said: 'I find out it's throat cancer, I think I could be dying, but I find out it's very treatable.
'Then they found the right breast and when I had the biopsy on the right breast, the doctor was saying 'this doesn't look great'.
'When she said that I was like 'Great, I have another cancer'.
'That's when I started crying on the table as she was still poking in there getting samples out of my boob. I'm like 'great, I have two cancers at the same time that are not related'.
'Who does that? Who has two cancers at the same time? I'm like I was never an underachiever but this is getting ridiculous.'
After being diagnosed at the beginning of last
