By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 13, 2022
American legend Chris Evert revealed that she was diagnosed with Stage 1c ovarian cancer, the disease that killed her sister Jeanne in 2020.
Evert’s doctor found a malignant tumor in her fallopian tube in early December, following a preventative hysterectomy. This week, according to ESPN, the 18-time Grand Slam champion and Queen of Clay began her first of six rounds of chemotherapy.
“I wanted to share my stage 1 ovarian cancer diagnosis and the story behind it as a way to help others,” Evert posted on Twitter on Friday. “I feel very lucky that they caught it early and expect positive results from my chemo plan.”
Evert lost her sister Jeanne, who was 62, in 2020 and later discovered through genetic testing, which showed that she had a pathogenic variant of the BRCA1 gene. She elected for the hysterectomy, which allowed her surgeon to catch the cancer early.
As Evert undergoes her chemo regimen, she plans to appear on ESPN’s Australian Open coverage from home. More important, she wants to share her experience, so that others may take proper precautions if they are at risk. "Ovarian cancer is rare," Evert’s doctor, Dr. Cardenas told ESPN. "However, if a patient has a family history, we encourage genetic testing and counseling."