Martina Navratilova & The Value of Early Detection
- Cancer treatment for tennis legend Martina Navratilova, 66, is looking “very positive,” according to “Real Housewives of Miami” star Guerdy Abraira, who appears on the show with Navratilova’s wife, Julie Lemigov.
- The good prognosis is due in part to the early detection of both her throat and breast cancers. Her HPV-linked throat cancer was diagnosed at stage one, and a cancerous breast lump was found during testing. Both are very responsive to treatment.
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common sexually transmitted virus that is most frequently linked to cervical cancer — but it can cause a handful of other cancers as well, including throat.
- Doctors recommend that young people are given the Gardasil 9 vaccine, which protects against nine strains of HPV — including the strains most likely to cause cancer and genital warts. The shot, approved for children as young as 9 years old, works best if it is given before they engage in any sexual activity.
Navratilova, 66, announced her diagnosis and treatment earlier this year. Her wife, former model Julie Lemigova, 50, appears on “Real Housewives” alongside Abraira. Lemigona and Navratoliva are the first gay couple in the franchise’s history.
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Martina Navratilova’s Cancer Diagnosis
In a statement earlier this year, the tennis legend announced that she had stage 1 throat cancer.
“The prognosis is good and I will start … treatment this month,” she wrote. “The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment.” The statement also notes that the cancer was discovered after Navratilova felt an enlarged lymph node on her neck during WTA finals in Fort Worth. As she underwent testing for her throat, a suspicious lump was detected in her breast, which was “subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer.”
The cancers were both diagnosed in early stages and have good prognoses, according to the statement.
This is not the first time the 18-time Grand Slam singles legend has faced cancer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2010 — ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a noninvasive form of breast cancer. DCIS means abnormal cells can be found in the breast milk duct and have become cancerous but have not yet metastasized, or spread, to other parts of the body.
At the time, she treated it with radiation and a lumpectomy, which is when a surgeon removes a portion of cancerous breast tissue.
Breast surgeon Dr. Sarah Cate explains the difference between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy.
What is HPV-linked throat cancer?
In her announcement, Navratilova specified that her throat cancer was linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that is extremely common in the U.S., is most frequently linked to cervical cancer — but it can cause a handful of other cancers as well, including throat.
Cancers in the back of the throat are often caused by tobacco and alcohol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but recent studies have indicated that as many as 60-70% of these throat cancers may be linked to HPV — or caused by a combination of HPV, alcohol, and tobacco. Head and neck cancers (which includes cancers of the throat or pharynx) are also more than two times more likely to be diagnosed in men than women.
What makes these cancers dangerous is that unlike cervical cancers, which are regularly screened for, there are currently no recommended screening tests to check for throat cancer for those who may be at risk.
Medical oncologist Dr. Jessica Geiger explains the basics of HPV-linked throat cancer.
As Navratilova noted in her announcement, though, these cancers do tend to respond really well to treatment.
“HPV-related throat cancer, generally, is very responsive to treatment with radiation and chemotherapy,” Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancer at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous conversation. “And the cure rates for patients who have HPV-related disease are a lot higher than those who have tobacco-related throat cancer.”
Preventing HPV-Linked cancers
Because HPV is so common in the U.S., doctors recommend that young people are given the Gardasil 9 vaccine, which protects against nine strains of HPV — including the strains most likely to cause cancer and genital warts.
In addition to throat and cervical cancer, HPV is also linked to cancers of the penis, vagina/vulva, and anus. The vaccine works best if it is given to children before they engage in any sexual activity, and it is approved for children as young as 9 years old. However, giving the vaccine to kids so young has caused some controversy.
Dr. Bobbie Rimel, an OB/GYN and oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet that there’s more rationale behind vaccinating kids when they are young.
“As a parent of a boy and a girl I’m often asked what my personal feelings are on vaccinating my children, both of which are vaccinated,” she explained. “My rationale is this: the HPV vaccinations that we have available to us today are incredibly effective at preventing HPV infection.
“The current Gardasil 9 vaccine that is available prevents more than 90% of HPV infections. One of the reasons behind giving children HPV vaccinations and not waiting until teenage or adult years is because the immune system of children is very robust … HPV vaccination is the single greatest anti-cancer move we can make for our children today.”
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