Katie Couric Cheers For Martina Navratilova Ahead Of Cancer Treatment

Katie Couric is supporting Martina Navratilova following the news of the former tennis pro's recent health crisis.

The well-decorated ex-tennis pro has been flooded with love since news of her throat and breast cancer diagnosis hit the internet. Couric was first in line to praise her for her strength, just days after paying it forward to women who are currently dealing with the same health challenges.

Navratilova received a swarm of support when the news of her cancer diagnosis surfaced on Monday, January 2. One of the quickest people to show the sportswoman love ahead of her treatment was Couric, who uploaded a screenshot of an outlet breaking the news of her diagnosis.

Under the image, which was shared via Instagram, the journalist began, "I love @martinanavratilova. Navratilova has been diagnosed with Stage 1 throat cancer and early-stage breast cancer."

After the "Wake Up Call" newsletter publisher quoted the athlete's words, she asked her 1.5 million followers to drop encouraging words for Navratilova in the comment section.

"Being diagnosed with cancer is a blow and unpredictable. I wish you the very best moving forward and know you will stay strong and fight these cancers with "all that you have" as you have on the tennis court," one responsive fan commented. 

Another person penned, "We know you'll fight this, but an army of people will be there to support!" and a third added, "One of the greats. Hope she can beat this!" "Praying for a successful and speedy recovery to a legend and one of my favorite players!" a fourth person chimed. 

Per Tennis.com, Navratilova's breast cancer was discovered during a preliminary throat examination. The 18 major singles title holder had previously battled the disease in 2010 after being diagnosed with non-invasive breast cancer — ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). In response to the diagnosis, the 66-year-old stated:

"This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I'm hoping for a favorable outcome. It's going to stink for a while, but I'll fight with all have [sic] I got."

The ten major mixed doubles title holder is set to begin treatment sometime this month, with a strong prediction of her recovery based on past positive outcomes for both cancers. In fact, her throat cancer is said to be type HPV, which responds well to treatment.

Navratilova was given a clean bill of health six months after her 2010 breast cancer diagnosis, following a lumpectomy — a cancer removal surgery  — and six weeks of radiation. With this new development, the Czech–American is more open to addressing her diagnosis, unlike the one in the past. In her words:

"I really didn't talk much about breast cancer before I had it. Now, I'm approached by women, and we share our stories. It's encouraging to see that there's life after cancer."

Couric revealed that she underwent surgery on July 14, 2022, after getting diagnosed with breast cancer the month before. After that, she embarked on a 15-day course of radiation that began on September 7.

With this occurring in her private life, the seasoned presenter has become even more determined to create awareness about the life-altering disease. Taking to Instagram in September, the former "TODAY" anchor shared a snapshot of herself sitting on a waiting chair.

The Blast observed that she wore what appeared to be a hospital garment over black bottoms with her face partly covered with a nose mask as she waited. For her caption, the 65-year-old dropped the statistic that an average woman was diagnosed with breast cancer in America every two minutes.

Noting that she joined that number on June 21, Couric continued, "As we approach #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth, I wanted to share my personal story with you all and encourage you to get screened." She also let on her wish for women to understand the possibility of them needing more than a mammogram to determine their status.

The former Global News Anchor for Yahoo then instructed whoever cared to check out the link in her bio or website to read her essay. She also encouraged women to shine a light on other people living with breast cancer and give them the love they deserved in the season.