Exhausting: Martina Navratilova said giving interviews about her cancer diagnosis was more of a strain than her lumpectomy She was diagnosed with breast cancer only a few months ago but this tough lady certainly isn't going to let it get her down.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova put on a brave smile today as she discussed her diagnosis on TV chat show Loose Women.
And she beamed broadly as she admitted that going public with her breast cancer battle was worse than having surgery.
In her first UK TV interview since disclosing she was suffering from breast cancer, the nine-times Wimbleon champion said she was doing fine but it had been difficult going public with the news.
And she added that undergoing a lumpectomy after her diagnosis was nothing compared to the countless interviews she gave afterwards.
She said: 'I’m doing just fine, it’s just been difficult because when I decided to go public – I’ve done a lot of interviews and that’s been actually more exhausting than my actual surgery that I had.'
The 53-year-old also told the chat show panel - which consisted of host Andrea McLean, Arlene Phillips,Carol McGiffin and Jane McDonald - that she wanted to urge women to go and get checked out.
Awareness: Martina told the Loose Women panel she hopes thousands of women will follow her lead and get their mammogramsShe said: 'I just wanted to remind women to go and get their mammograms, because without it, by the time it turns into a lump, it’s cancer everywhere. And so then the cure is much, much stronger and much more dangerous.'
Martina was diagnosed with the disease in February but didn't announce the news until earlier this month.
And she opened up about the day her biopsy came back positive after a routine mammogram revealed a cluster in her left breast.
Martina, who begins a six-week course of radiation therapy next month, said: 'Diagnosis was February 24th – that was sort of my personal 9/11 because I knew my life would never be the same.
Doing fine: Martina arrives for her Loose Women appearance in London today'Because of the mammogram we found it early. And I thought, you know, I let it slip – I didn’t have one for over four years, as it turned out, because I just thought… I’ll get to it – and I never got to it.
'It’s funny, when we get a notification from our vet that it’s time to take our pet for vaccinations, we take them right away right? But when women get, ‘It’s time for your check-up’, we go, ‘Oh I’ll do it next week.’ But soon it’s next year…'
Navratilova, who retired from the professional game in 2006, said she was shocked when she first heard the diagnosis.
Glory: Martina holds up the winner plate after winning the Wimbledon Championships in 1987She said: 'It was shocking. But immediately I’m like ‘OK, what do we do, how do I get rid of it?’ That’s when the athlete comes out – it’s like we need to find a solution for this.
'And thankfully the next day I found out it’s not a mastectomy, only a lumpectomy.
And it’s not chemo, only radiation. So I was thankful. I didn’t want to lose my boobs and I didn’t want to lose my hair because I don’t have much of either.'
source: dailymail
