Olivia Newton-John Battling Cancer for Third Time, Rocked by News Before 70th Birthday
Celebrities don’t live charmed lives. The television and movie screens may make us want to think so, as do the glossy tabloid covers we see at every checkout counter.
Yet they’re every bit as human as the rest of us. Just consider Olivia Newton-John.
According to Biography.com, the movie star and songstress enjoyed plenty of fame in her native England before she became famous in America. She earned a name for herself with multiple television appearances.
Then she released several Grammy-winning hits. But Newton-John’s name really came to fame in the United States when she starred opposite John Travolta in 1978’s “Grease.”
She released albums throughout the ’80s, got married, had a daughter and started a clothing line. That’s a pretty great existence, right?
Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean that Newton-John’s life was devoid of suffering. In addition to a divorce and a boyfriend who went missing during a fishing trip, she developed one of the world’s worst diseases: cancer.
In 1992, she discovered a lump in her right breast and began treatment. Business Insider reported that she underwent chemotherapy for nine grueling months.
Yet after that, physicians declared her cancer free. According to WLS, the experience made her a strong proponent of breast-cancer screenings.
A tumor appeared in her shoulder in 2013. Newton-John fought the disease off a second time.
Her troubles weren’t over, though. In 2017, some 25 years after her original diagnosis, the cancer returned.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Newton-John appeared on the Australian show “Sunday Night” to reveal that she has a tumor nestled near the bottom of her spine.
Metastatic cancer, which is cancer that spreads secondary tumors throughout the body, is a tough beast to beat. Usually far more aggressive than other types of cancer, it has much lower survival rates.
Still, Newton-John has remained upbeat. She said that she’s combining traditional treatments with alternative medicine this time around.
She also refuses to get morbid about the possibility of her death. “I don’t go there,” she stated.
“I’d be lying if I said I never go there. There are moments. I’m human.
“But my husband is always there and he’s always there to support me. I believe I will win over it and that’s my goal.”
We wish you nothing but the best, Olivia. May the God of all grace grant you mercy as you fight for your life once more.
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