Tennis star Chris Evert is cancer-free again

Tennis Hall of Fame member Chris Evert’s ovarian cancer has returned, but that hasn’t stopped her from remaining active in the sports world and beyond, the New York Times reports.

Evert, 69, who was No. 1 in singles tennis for seven years in the 1970s and early 1980s, was first diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer in 2021. She shared her diagnosis to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and encourage early testing.

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 19,700 U.S. women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year. Evert’s early diagnosis was particularly notable because ovarian cancer is usually not discovered until later stages. In fact, according to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, 70 to 80 percent of ovarian cancers are diagnosed at stage III or IV.

Evert lost her sister Jeanne Evert Dubin to ovarian cancer in 2020. But that tragedy may have saved Evert’s life, as Cancer Health reported in 2022.

When Dubin was diagnosed in 2017, she tested negative for the harmful variants of the BRCA1 gene that are linked to cancer, so Evert and other family members were discouraged from genetic testing. But recent advances in genetic testing have now identified Dubin’s specific variant as a genetic risk factor.

When Evert had her blood tested in October 2021, she also had this BRCA1 variant.

In December 2021, Evert underwent a preventive hysterectomy, but post-operative pathology revealed a tumor in her fallopian tubes. A subsequent surgery found no lymph node involvement; her stage I ovarian cancer had been removed during the original surgery.

Just over a year after remission, Evert underwent a CT scan. In December 2023, Evert announced that her cancer had returned.

“Doctors are always hopeful,” she told the Times. “If something comes back a second time, of course there’s a greater chance it will come back. Some people have cancer once and it goes away and they live another 30 or 40 years. That’s a wonderful story. It’s not always like that. But my doctor told me I’m not going to die from it.”

Evert was re-diagnosed with stage I ovarian cancer, meaning it had not spread.

After undergoing another round of treatments, including chemotherapy and surgery, Evert appears to be cancer-free and is eager to return to his work as a tennis commentator, coach and fundraiser, the Times reported.

“You can’t live in fear,” she said. “I just have to keep training, try to be as healthy as possible and keep all my CT scans and doctor’s appointments.”

As a tennis star, Evert is not alone in her fight. Last year, Cancer Health reported on tennis legend Martina Navratilova Diagnosis of stage I laryngeal cancer and an unrelated diagnosis of breast cancer.

The breast cancer was discovered when she underwent a screening for throat cancer. Navratilova’s throat cancer is linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV) and is one of the more treatable types of cancer.

“This double blow is serious but still recoverable and I hope for a good result,” said 66-year-old Navratilova. “It will stink for a while, but I will fight with everything I have.”

In related news, actress Olivia Munn recently announced her breast cancer diagnosis and thanked doctors for using a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (BCRAT) that led to an early diagnosis.

BCRAT is a questionnaire developed in 1989 that, according to the National Cancer Institute, uses a woman’s personal data to estimate her risk of developing invasive breast cancer within the next five years or during her lifetime.

To learn more about Evert’s cancer, click on #OvarianCancer or read Cancer Health’s basics on ovarian cancer, which includes:

Who gets ovarian cancer?

Ovarian cancer can occur in women as young as 15, but most cases are diagnosed in women over 55. Ovarian cancer is more common in white women, followed by Hispanic women, than in African-American or Asian women, but incidence rates are declining in all groups.

What are the risk factors for ovarian cancer?

Risk factors for developing ovarian cancer include obesity, family history, inherited genetic mutations such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, never having been pregnant, and long-term use of fertility drugs. Hormone replacement therapy after menopause is associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer, while oral contraceptives are protective.

How is ovarian cancer diagnosed?

Early cancer detection and treatment increases the likelihood of long-term survival. However, ovarian cancer sometimes takes a while to diagnose because other conditions must be ruled out. Diagnosis begins with a physical exam and taking a medical history. A doctor may perform a pelvic exam, which is a manual internal examination of the vagina or rectum to feel for lumps.

Blood may be tested for a protein called CA-125, which is high in many women with ovarian cancer. A transvaginal ultrasound can look for growths in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus. X-rays, CT scans, or MRI scans can determine how far the cancer has spread. Laparoscopy (inserting a thin tube through a small cut in the abdomen) can be used to examine the inside of the abdomen. A small sample of tissue (a biopsy) can also be taken for laboratory examination.