Navratilova, an 18-time grand slam champion in singles, said medics had given her a “very, very good” prognosis following a three-week trial programme of proton therapy treatment at the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. 

“As far as they know, I’m cancer-free,” Navratilova told Piers Morgan in an interview with TalkTV. “I still need to deal with the right breast, probably have radiation [treatment], but that’s a couple of weeks, and it’s like that doesn’t even count. 

“That’s more preventative than anything else. 

“It’s like 99% solvable. I definitely will not be missing any of my check-ups. I’ll be very diligent about that. The prognosis is excellent. But you never know.” 

The nine-time Wimbledon champion, 66, first suspected something was amiss when she noticed a swollen lymph node in her neck while working as a television pundit at last November’s WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. Her first thought was that it might have been caused by a shingles vaccine she had received the previous week, but a biopsy led to a diagnosis of early-stage throat cancer. Tests also revealed a lump in her right breast.

“I asked the doctor, ‘What do you think the chances are?’ and he said, ‘About 50-50,’” said Navratilova. “And I thought, ‘I don’t like those odds.’

“I was in a total panic for three days, thinking I may not see next Christmas.

“You definitely come face to face with your mortality a lot more when you’re 65 than when you’re 50 or 55.

“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?’”

After what she described as “three horrible nights” during which she had no idea which area of her body had been affected by the disease, Navratilova received more positive news. Her condition was curable. Immediately, her mindset altered.

“Once the oncologist said ‘No, it’s from your throat and it’s very treatable,’ then I’m like ‘OK, so what do we do?’ As a tennis player, you have to be in that solution [mode], you have to be in game mode, so that’s where I think being a champion athlete comes in pretty handy.”

In the weeks that followed, Navratilova’s mental strength served her well. The combined effects of chemotherapy and proton therapy, a highly targeted radiation treatment used to disrupt and destroy tumour cells, left her struggling to eat. Navratilova lost 15 pounds in weight and struggled even to yawn or sneeze as the effects of the treatment began to take hold.

“I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn’t realise it was going to be as hard as it really was,” said Navratilova.

“When you start feeling lousy, you’re not sure if it’s from the chemo or the proton.

“I didn’t really feel the proton until week three, but then you get a sore mouth and your throat starts closing.

“Everything’s swollen and very uncomfortable, and the proton makes your saliva weird. You don’t really taste things the right way. Chemo does the same thing to your throat, but then it makes it dry.

“So, you’re just hit from all ends and I don’t think the doctors do a very good job of telling you how the shit is going to hit the fan.”

Navratilova’s spirits were lifted by the support of the tennis world, and in particular her close friend Chris Evert, who was diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer in December 2021. Evert too was treated at the Sloane Kettering centre.

“Of course, the careers are always intertwined, and then we follow each other this way,” said Navratilova. “[Evert] was on Saturday Night Live years ago when she retired, and did a skit about how competitive we were. And I’m like ‘This is the kind of competition we don’t really need.’

“But I must say Chris has been just a stalwart, she has supported me so much through this, as I supported her a year ago. Little did I know that it was going to be reciprocated in this manner, but she’s been great.”

Navratilova said the experience had persuaded her to re-evaluate plans to adopt a child with her wife, Julia Lemigova, suggesting there was “just not enough space for this to happen”.

“I think it’s just too complicated and the energy, I only have so much now,” said Navratilova.

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The 66-year-old, a towering figure in the sport’s history who won a combined total of 59 grand slam titles in singles and doubles, will begin treatment later this month after she was found to be suffering from early-stage throat and breast cancer.

Navratilova became aware of the problem during the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas in early November, when she noticed a swollen lymph node in her neck.

The nine-time Wimbledon champion, who was successfully treated for stage 1 breast cancer in 2010, subsequently underwent tests that identified the nature of the problem.

“This double whammy is serious but still fixable,” said Navratilova. “I’m hoping for a favourable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.”

As the tennis world took in the news, Billie Jean King led messages of support for Navratilova. 

“Martina is as brave as she is strong,” wrote King. “She has fought this battle before, and she is in our thoughts and prayers.”

King’s sentiments were echoed by the All England Club, where Navratilova won half of her 18 major singles titles.

“Wishing our most decorated singles champion a swift and full recovery,” read a tweet from the official account of the Wimbledon Championships.

Navratilova’s wife, Julia Lemigova, took to social media to thank the former world No 1’s well-wishers.

“Thank you to everyone who has reached out to share words of support,” Lemigova, who has been married to Navratilova since 2014, wrote on Instagram.

“Together, we will fight this.”

While unable to travel to Melbourne this year, Navratilova hopes to contribute to television coverage of the Australian Open by video link, according to her agent Mary Greenham.

“Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with stage one throat cancer,” said Greenham in a statement. “The prognosis is good and Martina will start her treatment this month. 

“The cancer type is HPV [human papillomavirus] and this particular type responds really well to treatment. 

“Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer. 

“At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer.  

“Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes.”

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