Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Chris Everthas penned an update on her health, saying she is now clear from ovarian cancer.
The International Tennis Hall-of-Famer, 68,shared her happy newsin a post for ESPN.com on Tuesday.
“Today, I’m cancer-free, and there’s a 90% chance that the ovarian cancer will never come back,” said Evert.
The tennis legend highlighted the importance of genetic testing, specifically the BRCA gene mutation test, which can let one know early on if they are at a higher risk to develop the disease.
“A year ago, I started a journey to protect myself and my loved ones from the risks associated with theBRCA-related ovarian cancerthat took my sister Jeanne’s life,” Evert wrote. “Jeanne wasn’t BRCA positive, but genetic testing revealed she had a BRCA-1 variant that was of ‘uncertain significance.’ The doctors didn’t recommend genetic testing for me or my siblings, and we stayed focused on Jeanne’s treatment.”
“The last two years of her life were brutal; they were heartbreaking,” she continued. “In February of 2020, Jeanne died.”
Chris Evert Instagram
Evert, who won 18 Grand Slam singles tournaments throughout her career, is carrying on a mission in honor of her sister to get people more educated about cancer prevention and early detection.
Immediately taking action, she scheduled a preventative hysterectomy. “But when my pathology report came back, my doctors and I were stunned to find thatI had malignant cells and a tumorin my left fallopian tube,” she shared of her finding her cancer.
“My doctor said if left undiscovered, in four months' time I would probably have been Stage 3 like Jeanne, with very few options,” she said. “Instead, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 ovarian cancer, and I immediately began six rounds of chemotherapy.”
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Though Evert is all clear, she said her journey is far from over. “I needed time to recover from chemo and rebuild my strength, but I still had one mountain left to climb,” she wrote for ESPN. “The risk for me was bigger than ovarian cancer alone. BRCA mutations are associated with an up to 75% risk of developing breast cancer, and an increased risk of prostate and pancreatic cancer as well.”
One year after having her hysterectomy surgery, she had a double mastectomy and removed both of her breasts. This time, she had better luck.
“My sister, like many people, was so busy taking care of everybody else, she ignored what her body was trying to tell her,” Evert shared. “My advice is: Trust your gut, know your family history, learn about genetic testing and be your own advocate.”
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Evert currently holds 157 singles titles and was previously ranked No. 1 in the world for seven years from 1974 through 1978, 1980 and 1981. She retired from tennis is 1989.
She is also a mother and has three sons — Colton, Nicholas and Alexander — whom she shares withex-husband Andy Mill.
source: people.com
