Chris Evert using cancer fight to raise awareness of early detection: 'Be your own advocate'

Tom Gatto

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Chris Evert using cancer fight to raise awareness of early detection: 'Be your own advocate' image

Chris Evert acknowledges she is "so lucky" to be able to battle cancer in its early stages, an announcement the Tennis Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst revealed on Friday: She has Stage 1C3 ovarian cancer, and has begun chemotherapy.

Evert says she was diagnosed in December and completed the first of six rounds of chemotherapy this week.

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"As someone who has always had control over my life, I have no idea how I'll respond to chemotherapy," Evert, 67, told ESPN colleague Chris McKendry. "I have to give in to something higher."

Evert's family history played a major role in early detection. Her younger sister Jeanne Evert Dubin died in February 2020 at age 62 after a 2 1/2-year fight with ovarian cancer. Last October, Evert's family was told a new interpretation of genetic testing that was done on Dubin during her illness indicated some family members may be at increased risk of certain cancers, such as breast and ovarian cancer.

Evert said she then had her own genetic testing done and found out she was at increased risk. Despite undergoing a preventive hysterectomy in early December, cancer was detected in the left fallopian tube. It had not spread to other parts of her body, she told McKendry.

"When I go into chemo, she is my inspiration," Evert said of her sister. "I'll be thinking of her. And she'll get me through it."

Evert told McKendry it was important to her to tell her story and help to raise awareness about ovarian cancer.

"Be your own advocate. Know your family's history. Have total awareness of your body, follow your gut and be aware of changes. Don't try to be a crusader and think this will pass," Evert said.

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Evert said on Twitter that she will provide coverage of the 2022 Australian Open, which begins Sunday in the U.S., from home.

The tennis world responded to Evert's cancer news with a stream of encouragement on social media. A sample of the messages:

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.