Tennis legend Chris Evert reveals her ovarian cancer diagnosis

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Chris Evert commentator

Tennis legend Chris Evert is undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the beginning of December.

The former World No 1 has revealed she was diagnosed with cancer after a undergoing a preventive hysterectomy due to being told that she was at risk of developing cancer.

Evert feels very lucky that the cancer was caught before it spread and has already had her first round of chemotherapy out of the six she’ll need.

“I am so lucky,” the 18 time Grand Slam champion told ESPN where she works as a pundit.

“I have some challenges ahead of me.

“But I have comfort in knowing the chemotherapy is to ensure that cancer does not come back.”

The 67 year old’s sister Jeane died of cancer two years before Evert’s diagnosis but the family were told at the time that genetic testing hadn’t brought anything up that they should be concerned about.

However, this all changed when further research led to subsequent advancements in the area which is when Evert was told to get more information about her situation.

Her blood test results revealed that she had a pathogenic variant of the gene which led to the discovery of a tumour.

The 157 time title winner said of her younger sister Jeane: “When I go into chemo, she is my inspiration – I’ll be thinking of her, and she’ll get me through it.”

Support for the tennis great began to flood into social media when the news of her diagnosis was revealed, Martina Navratilova – fellow 18 time Grand Slam winner and friend of Evert – wrote on Twitter: “We are all with you and behind you Chrissie, you are a true champion and I have no doubt you will conquer this nasty opponent with nary a sweat.”

Fellow American player and winner of the Adelaide International 2, Madison Keys, also posted a message of support: “So glad you’re doing okay now @ChrissieEvert! Sending you lots of love,” she said.

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