tennis icon martina navratilova has two kinds of cancer: 'i’ll fight with all have i got'

“this double whammy is serious but still fixable. i’m hoping for a favourable outcome,” she said in a statement to the women’s tennis association (wta). “ it’s going to stink for a while, but i’ll fight with all have i got.”

previous battle with breast cancer

in early 2010, navratilova was first diagnosed with a form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ. it’s considered non-invasive because it’s centralized to the milk duct and doesn’t spread to other parts of the breast. at the time, she told the wta, she cried for “about 15 seconds” and then asked her doctor how to fight it.

the cancer was removed in a procedure called a lumpectomy, and navratilova also underwent radiation treatment to kill any remaining cancer cells. by september of that year, she was cancer-free.

the surgery itself was easy, “but the radiation was trickier,” navratilova told people at the time. “it was six weeks of really low energy. radiation just sucks your energy like a vampire, day by day.” she continued to feel lethargic even after her treatment ended, but after a while she said she felt “ as good as new.”

navratilova also said she had skipped out on mammograms for several years before her initial diagnosis and urged other women not to make the same mistake. “a nother year and i could have been in big trouble.”

support has poured in

since announcing her diagnoses, many fans and friends of navratilova have expressed their support for her on social media. fellow tennis legend billie jean king wrote on twitter that navratilova “ is as brave as she is strong.” chris evert, another tennis player who has played against navratilova and who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year, praised her for taking “ on challenges with strength and resilience.”

navratilova’s wife julia lemigova also shared a photo of the two of them on instagram with the caption “ together, we will fight this.”