Martina Navratilova opens up on cancer battle in emotional interview

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Martina Navratilova all smiles

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has opened up on her cancer battle as she admitted she feared she “may not see next Christmas”.

The former world number one announced in January she had been diagnosed with throat and breast cancers.

The 66-year-old is due to undergo further preventative radiation treatment, but revealed in an interview with Piers Morgan on Talk TV she should then “be good to go”.

Navratilova said in quotes reported by the Sun: “As far as they know I’m cancer free.”

Navratilova, winner of 59 grand slam singles and doubles titles, revealed her diagnosis left her fearing the worst.

“I was in a total panic for three days thinking I may not see next Christmas,” she said in the interview set to be aired on Tuesday.

“The bucket list came into my mind of all the things I wanted to do.”

Navratilova, who previously underwent treatment for early-stage breast cancer in 2010, went to the doctors after noticing an enlarged lymph node in her neck, with tests subsequently confirming cancer.

She added: “This was the first week in December, (I’m thinking) I will see this Christmas but maybe not the next one.

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

“I love to eat and eating was the hardest part of this whole treatment. I lost 15lbs, not because I wanted to, but because I just couldn’t get enough food in my body.

“The radiation affects your throat and mouth which start closing up. I couldn’t even yawn or sneeze

“And I only had three weeks of the proton therapy when the normal course is seven weeks .”

However, doctors were able to tell her the cancer was “extremely treatable” and she had a “95 per cent” chance of a full recovery, the Sun reported.

Speaking of her diagnosis she explained her terror, saying: “I was in a total panic for three days thinking I may not see next Christmas.

“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, okay, ‘Which kick ass car do I really want to drive if I live like a year?’”

The full interview with Navratilova and Morgan will be aired on Tuesday evening on Talk TV.

Martina Navratilova

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