One year after revealing a diagnosis of Stage 1 ovarian cancer, USTA Foundation chairperson Chris Evert announced Tuesday that she's cancer-free.
"Today, I'm cancer-free, and there's a 90% chance that the ovarian cancer will never come back," Evert wrote in a first-person essay for ESPN. She tweeted the article to her more than 300,000 Twitter followers to break the news, saying, "It's been quite the year, and I'm feeling very grateful."
The now 68-year-old 18-time Grand Slam singles champion has spent the last year, during her own battle, urging others to be proactive about their health. It's a decision she says helped save her own life after her younger sister, Jeanne, had the BRCA1 gene, one which makes women more susceptible to breast and ovarian cancers, and died of BRCA-related ovarian cancer in 2020. Evert got tested, learned she too had the gene, and scheduled a preventative hysterectomy. But, it was then that they discovered a malignant tumor in her fallopian tube.
Ultimately, the Hall of Famer underwent six rounds of chemotherapy as well as a double mastectomy. In her essay, she wrote that doctors told her if she had waited longer to get tested and seek treatment, she could have ended up with Stage 3 cancer—the point when Jeanne's cancer was diagnosed.
Click here to read Evert's essay at ESPN.com: One year later, an update from Chris Evert on her cancer journey
"When it comes to deciding between surveillance or surgery, everyone's choice is personal," Evert said. "The most important thing is not to leave things to chance. Of the 25 million women and men worldwide who have a BRCA mutation, only 10% know they are carriers. When I talk to people about genetic testing, so many people say, "It's too scary to know." I'm here to tell you, it's scarier not to."
Evert says she'll continue to use her platform to be an advocate, and that her "journey is not over." She has one more reconstructive surgery before she can officially put this period behind her.
"They say this part is easy, but I can assure you, the last five years have not been," Evert wrote. "As relieved as I will be to get to the other side of this, I will always have a heavy heart. I will never heal from losing Jeanne, and I will never take for granted the gift she gave me in the process. My sister's journey saved my life, and I hope by sharing mine, I just might save somebody else's."