Olivia Newton-John reveals her heartbreaking cancer news
- Publish Date
- Monday, 10 September 2018, 11:38AM
Breast cancer first reared its ugly head in 1992. Olivia Newton-John, who turns 70 in a few weeks, succeeded in beating it down.
But, in 2013, another cancer was found in her shoulder. She decided to keep that secret from everyone.
Now, a third cancer has been found at the base of her spine.
This time, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter has taken on a more natural approach to tackling the invasive tumour, fighting it with a mixture of both modern medicines and 'natural' therapies, as well as focusing on a healthy diet and activity regimen.
"I'm still treating it, and I'm treating it naturally and doing really well, yeah," she said, opening up on Aussie show, Sunday Night.
She has undergone radiation treatment but has also cut out sugar and takes cannabis oil for the pain — something she hopes will become legal in Australia.
"In California it's legal to grow a certain amount of plants for your own medicinal purposes. So he [her husband] makes me tinctures. It's hard to say, they help with pain.
"I'm very lucky that I live in a state where it's legal and that I have a husband that is a plant-medicine man.
"My dream is that, in Australia soon, it will be available to all the cancer patients and people going through cancer that causes pain."
But is it hard to maintain her brave face?
"Um, … well, no," Olivia laughs.
"I mean, I have my moments, but I'm not gonna have my moments here. There are moments. I'm human. So if I allow myself to go there, I could easily create that, you know, big fear."
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Olivia was speaking from her ranch not far from Santa Barbara, California, some 150km north of Los Angeles, which she shares with her husband, herbal remedy entrepreneur John Easterling.
"For me, it has a feeling of Australia about it," she told Sunday Night reporter Alex Cullen. "There's no neighbours that we can see, so it's private."
It's where, she says, she's undertaking the 'journey' of her life.
"A lot of people see it as a fight, and that's … however you choose to see it, that's your prerogative. I see it as part of my mission."
And it's being helped by a song she sang decades ago — she considers it her personal theme.
"The chorus goes … 'Don't stop believin', don't stop believin', you'll get by.'"
But amid it all, she insists she has no regrets. She feels lucky even.
"You know, there are other people out there doing much, much worse than me. And, um, I'm a very privileged person, and I'm very aware of that. I live in this beautiful place. I have a wonderful husband. I have all the animals that I adore. I have an incredible career. I have nothing, really, to complain about."
This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is reproduced here with permission.Â