(Peter B. Laird/ Baptist Health South Florida) — During her dominance of women’s tennis in the 1970s and 80s, former world number one and 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert faced down many impressive adversaries on the court. Throughout her remarkable run, Ms. Evert was tested many times, but never like she’s been tested this past year since being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Now 67 – yes, it’s been nearly 50 years since she won her first French Open and Wimbledon titles at the age of 19 – Ms. Evert took to Twitter in January to share the news. “I wanted to share my stage 1 ovarian cancer diagnosis and the story behind it as a way to help others. I feel very lucky that they caught it early and expect positive results from my chemo plan.”
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Nearly 20,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States this year, it says. (…)