‘A Prisoner in Your Own Body’ – When Martina Navratilova Detailed the Harrowing Experience of Living Through Breast Cancer

Former Czech-American tennis player Martina Navratilova endured many difficulties early in her career. However, it was after her retirement that she faced one of the toughest challenges of her life; her fight with breast cancer.

In 2010, she was diagnosed with the deadly disease. Back then, she talked about her harrowing experience.

Martina Navratilova opened up about her battle with breast cancer

It is important to understand that Navratilova found out about the cancer in stage 1. As a result, she had to go through chemotherapy immediately, causing her immense pain. She described how she asked herself the same question that pops into everyone’s mind after their diagnosis, “Why me?”

Read More: ‘Others Lose Confidence’ – Chris Evert Once Narrated How the Brute Force of Martina Navratilova Intimated Opponents Including Herself

During the treatment, she could not move for a week, as she said, “It felt like you were a prisoner in your own body… And that was a new experience for me. It was not like spraining your ankle, you know.”

Navratilova also talked about feeling angry during her battle. Despite her terrible experience, the former player showed terrific grit and determination to beat cancer. Also, she was doing pretty much everything at that time, from hill climbing to traveling around the world and covering matches.

Navratilova’s good friend Chris Evert also suffered from cancer

Meanwhile, one of the best American tennis players ever and a close friend of Navratilova, Chris Evert, also battled ovarian cancer. In 2022, she announced this news to the world after losing her sister two years earlier to the same disease.

Watch This Story: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova once jointly bashed infamous broadcaster Piers Morgan after his ridiculous comments on Marin Cilic 

Earlier this year, Evert completed her final chemotherapy session. Notably, the doctors found out about her cancer in stage 1 as well. During her battle, Evert talked about receiving Navratilova’s immense support.

During their playing days, Navratilova and Evert shared one of the best rivalries in tennis history. For 15 years, they played faced each other in 80 matches on the tour. In terms of the head-to-head record, Navratilova edged Evert by a small margin (43-37). Despite their countless battles on the court, they were quite inseparable off of it. Moreover, their friendship remain strong even to this day.