Olivia Newton-John feels 'extremely lucky' after beating cancer 3 times: 'I don’t take that for granted at all'
Actress Olivia Newton-Johnn has shared an update on her health and exciting details about her new foundation following a battle with Stage 4 breast cancer. Speaking to HollywoodLife, the 'Grease' star revealed that she hasn't taken radiation in “a couple of years” and hasn’t had a scan for cancer “for a long time."
The Australian icon, 72, has emerged victorious from her third bout with cancer -- which returned in May 2017 -- but continues to work towards finding “kinder therapies” for those battling the disease with her new Olivia Newton-John Foundation, which she launched during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“I think I’m extremely lucky. I’m very lucky that I’m well. I don’t take that for granted at all,” Olivia told HollywoodLife in an October 13 interview, adding that she feels "great" despite experiencing “some pain” in her feet. “I have some neuropathy in my feet,” Olivia explained, which she said is “a result of damage to the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves)." According to the Mayo Clinic, this can cause pain in the hands and feet. “It is, unfortunately, a reaction to radiation, but the rest of me feels great,” Olivia said, adding that she gets her “energy” from “eating well and from taking a lot of plant medicine and herbs and homeopathy and thinking good thoughts."
“Everything comes from here [brain], right? What you think about life, what you think about your illness, what you think about everything is affected by your mind, so the mind, body, and spirit is really important,” the Grammy-Award winning singer said. The 'Summer Nights' hitmaker said she keeps herself fulfilled by her surroundings. “I have animals around me that I adore. I have a wonderful, loving husband [John Easterling], I have great friends. I’m very, very lucky and I’m very grateful," she explained.
Olivia reported her first breast cancer diagnosis in 1992, before it returned in 2013 and spread to her shoulder. In May 2017, she found that the cancer had metastasized at the end of her spine. This entailed years of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, the actress noted, in a sense leading her to her new dream.
“There must be kinder therapies that we can have for cancer so that’s my dream,” the 'Physical' singer told HollywoodLife of her new quest. “To find kinder therapies that work and boost the immune system rather than poisoning it, so I’m working towards that with a focus on plant medicine that’s been so helpful to me.”
Newton-John says her quest was also inspired by the recent loss of friends to cancer, including John Travolta's wife Kelly Preston, who died in July this year. “Of course I reached out to [John Travola], he’s my dear friend and I feel so strongly and so sad for the family,” she said, adding that losing friends “has really strengthened my resolve to fund and find kinder treatments for cancer. That’s my dream… because [I have] been on this journey for 28 years now, from the first time I had to seven years ago when I had the recurrences.”