A Year After Her Passing, Olivia Newton-John Continues To Inspire Cancer Patients

Before she passed, the actress told SurvivorNet, “This journey has increased my gratitude, really, because when you've had cancer a few times and don't know the outcome, you're grateful for the moments you're having, or the days you're having, or the hours you're having. I think it's also made me more accepting.”

Newton-John’s family continues to raise money for her charity which sponsors research into medicine derived from plants. Alternative medicines are strongly denounced by most respected physicians who rely on evidence based therapies. However, formal research into the potential to create new treatments is being conducted by some academic centers, using high-quality scientific methods.

Olivia Newton-John’s Cancer Battles 

The Australian "Grease" star and hit-maker was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. To treat her cancer, she had chemotherapy and a partial mastectomy (surgical removal of cancerous breast tissue). In 2017, Newton-John's cancer returned and it had spread to other parts of her body, so she had radiation therapy to treat it.

Newton-John battled stage 4, metastatic breast cancer, which means the cancer had spread to distant areas of the body. She previously spoke with SurvivorNet about how she learned how to accept cancer and look at the disease in a positive light.

Even though there is currently no cure for metastatic breast cancer, doctors have many options to treat this stage advanced stage of breast cancer.

Hormone therapy, chemotherapy and targeted drugs are all options to talk to her doctor about, depending on your individual needs. Sometimes surgery and/or radiation is considered as part of the treatment, but mainly it is important to focus on improving your quality of life.

Understanding Stage 4 Breast Cancer
Stage 4, or metastatic breast cancer, means that your cancer has now spread to distant areas of the body. Even though there is currently no cure for metastatic breast cancer, doctors have many options to treat this stage advanced stage of breast cancer.

Hormone therapy, chemotherapy and targeted drugs are all options to talk to her doctor about, depending on your individual needs. Sometimes surgery and/or radiation is considered as part of the treatment, but mainly it is important to focus on improving your quality of life.

The treatment plan for metastatic breast cancer patients depends on the specific needs of the woman, whether they need an aggressive chemotherapy or depending on the doctor's assessment, they may benefit from another medication.

For hormone receptive positive cancer breast cancer patients, doctors try to see how long they can keep patients on oral therapies. Very often, newly diagnosed metastatic hormone receptive-positive breast cancers (where cells have either estrogen (ER) or progesterone (PR) receptors or both) respond best with different hormonal medications, and sometimes for many many years.

 

 

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