Enjoying Life As a New Mom After Cancer
- Tennis star Martina Navratilova, a throat and breast cancer survivor, is feeling all the “joy” with her beloved wife Julia Lemigova just three months after adopting their new sons.
- Although more details into their sons aren’t available, the Czech-American sports superstar, who was declared “cancer free” in 2023, is spending a lot of time with her family and embracing life as a mom after previous adoption struggles.
- “When a woman is diagnosed with cancer in her childbearing years, fertility preservation should be a part of the conversation, like it’s part of the treatment plan,” Jaime Knopman, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist at CCRM Fertility in New York City, previously told SurvivorNet. “Everyone in their reproductive years should be advised of their options.”
- Various cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation, can affect both men’s and women’s fertility. IVF is among several options cancer patients can turn to if they have hopes of parenthood.
- Egg, sperm, and embryo freezing are common approaches to fertility preservation, but other options exist, like adoption.
Since welcoming their sons via adoption, the tennis icon, an 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and nine-time Wimbledon champion, and her beloved wife Lemigova, who has two adult daughters from earlier relationships, have detailed the past three months as “very intense, loving, and incredible.”
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Lemigova, who also noted that mom life has prompted Navratilova to spend less time on social media and more time with her family, insisted her wife “loves” raising their two sons.
She continued, “She’s making pancakes in the morning, taking them to school. She’s so energized. When we first got them, we thought we are saving them, but in reality, we’re both saving each other.
“And seeing them, like waking up in the morning with their little faces and what joy it brought into our life. It’s like [being] a new mother again all of a sudden after being an empty nester.”
Now, moms of four, Lemigova recounted having a “fast” adoption process, saying her adult daughter’s are feeling some “growing pains.”
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Lemigova added, “Even we were not prepared for it. We literally got a phone call and jumped on the plane and got to the destination to pick them [her daughters] up. But I cannot wait for us to be together.
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“We are a strong family. I’m hoping one day we will be like six of us for a long time in Miami instead of like just a short period of time for holidays. Trying to move them back to Miami.”
Martina Navratilova and Wife Julie Lemigova’s Prior Adoption Challenges
Prior to Navratilova’s two cancer diagnoses, the tennis legend was hoping to try again for a child again with her Russian former model wife, Julie Lemigova.
The pair, who wed in December 2014, had ultimately decided to pause their motherhood plans when Navratilova found out she had cancer again.
Dr. Terri Woodard discusses your options for preserving fertility after a cancer diagnosis
Speaking to Piers Morgan earlier this year, Navratilova explained. “We were thinking about adopting but that’s definitely put on hold, and I don’t think it’s going to happen.
“I think it’s just too complicated and the energy, I only have so much right now.”
Navratilova, who retired back in 2006, admitted that the idea of adoption was “nice,” however it now seems unlikely.
“I’m not really the youngest anymore and I don’t want to be the grandmother on the playground,” she further explained, according to the Daily Mail. “Forget that part, there’s just not enough space I think for this to happen.
“So we will think about adopting but, that’s definitely put on hold I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”
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Lemigova also offered some insight into their adoption plans during a “Real Housewives Of Miami” reunion this past spring.
She told the RHOM cast and host Andy Cohen, “When you’re adopting a child, it has to be about the child. And, right now, it’s everything about Martina, and for her [to be] getting healthy.”
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“So, we’re putting it on hold,” Lemigova said, according to Bravo TV. “You know, we were thinking [that at] any moment, the agency would call and give us happy news that we’re going to have a baby. Instead, we are fighting two cancers. Like one was not enough.”
We’re delighted that despite Navratilova’s recent double cancer diagnosis, and her and Lemigova’s prior adoption struggles, the two are embracing motherhood together with their new sons.
Navratilova informed The Daily Dish on Wednesday, July 14, that she and her wife of 10 years have two young boys in their life.
Here's some @Martina Navratilova news. She and Julia Lemigova announced today that they have adopted two young boys. They are delighted and request that they are now given the space and privacy to welcome the new members of their family. Martina: "We are the over the moon…
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) August 14, 2024
A statement to Bravo, made by Navratilova and Lemigova, read, “We are the over the moon recognizing the challenges and the rewards for everybody.”
However, they haven’t revealed the names or ages of the boys.
It’s also unclear if the boys are related.
Understanding Fertility Preservation
“When a woman is diagnosed with cancer in her childbearing years, fertility preservation should be a part of the conversation, like it’s part of the treatment plan,” Jaime Knopman, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist at CCRM Fertility in New York City, previously told SurvivorNet.
“Everyone in their reproductive years should be advised of their options.”
Freezing Eggs Or Embryos: What Should I Do?
Some types of chemotherapy can destroy eggs in your ovaries. This can make it impossible or difficult to get pregnant later. Whether or not chemotherapy makes you infertile depends on the type of drug and your age since your egg supply decreases with age.
“The risk is greater the older you are,” Knopman explained. “If you’re 39 and you get chemo that’s toxic to the ovaries, it’s most likely to make you menopausal. But, if you’re 29, your ovaries may recover because they have a higher baseline supply.”
If your cancer treatment includes surgery in which both ovaries are completely removed, then IVF will likely be needed to help get pregnant.
Radiation to the pelvis can also destroy eggs. It can damage the uterus, too. Surgery to your ovaries or uterus can hurt fertility as well.
Meanwhile, endocrine or hormone therapy may block or suppress key fertility hormones and may prevent a woman from getting pregnant. This infertility may be temporary or permanent, depending on the type and length of treatment.
If you are having a treatment that includes infertility as a possible side effect, your doctor won’t be able to tell you for sure whether you will have this side effect. That’s why you should discuss your options for fertility preservation before starting treatment.
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Research shows that women who have fertility preservation prior to breast cancer treatment, in particular, are more than twice as likely to give birth after treatment than those who don’t take fertility-preserving measures.
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Martina Navratilova’s Cancer Journey
Martina Navratilova announced in January 2023 that she had stage 1 throat cancer. At the time, she explained publicly, “The prognosis is good and I will start treatment this month. The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment.”
She was referring to the human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted disease, which raises your risk of several cancers, including throat.
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The statement also noted that the cancer was found after Navratilova discovered an enlarged lymph node on her neck while she was at the WTA finals in Fort Worth, Texas.
It was then, while undergoing testing for her throat, that a suspicious lump was detected in her breast, which was “subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer.”
Thankfully, both cancers were found in early stages and had good prognoses, as per the statement.
Navratilova, who is now officially cancer free after receiving the “all clear” shortly after, returned to her job with the Tennis Channel just in time for the Miami Open in March 2023.
Meanwhile, Navratilova’s recent cancer battle was not the only time Navratilova faced a disease. She was first diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a noninvasive form of breast cancer, in 2010.
DCIS means abnormal cells in the breast milk duct have become cancerous but have not yet metastasized, or spread, to other parts of the body.
During this time, Navratilova underwent radiation and a lumpectomy treatment (when a surgeon removes a portion of cancerous breast tissue).
For more information on this disease, SurvivorNet is proud to offer a large resource center on Breast Cancer, treatment options, and the latest advancements that are changing lives today.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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