In the midst of her treatment for advanced breast cancer, actress Olivia Newton-John is finding enormous joy in the relationship with her daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi. Chloe, 33, has been a light throughout many of her mom’s hardships — including the current battle with incurable breast cancer, her third recurrence. This week, Newton-John welcomed Lattanzi back to Instagram after her daughter, who is an actress as well, took a year-long hiatus from the social media platform to “heal.”
Many mothers tell SurvivorNet that their children gave them the strength they needed to take on cancer.
Read More“My beautiful talented daughter Chloe is back on Instagram! She has some fun and exciting things coming up!,” Newton-John wrote in the caption of a photo of her and her daughter.
The next day, the Grease actress posted a photo of she and Chloe on the cover on Australia’s Women’s Weekly Magazine with the caption, “Don’t miss me and my beautiful daughter @chloelattanzioofficial on the cover of the new issue…”
Lattanzi had taken more than a year off from Instagram, after claiming her preoccupation with screen-time and social media was taking a toll on her real life. Lattanzi and Newton-John are exceptionally close, regularly sharing publicly how important their relationship is to both of their lives. However, growing up in the spotlight did lead to some early troubles in Lattanzi’s life. She has admitted in the past to struggling with eating disorders and dependence on both alcohol and anti-depressants. As recently as 2017, Lattanzi shared on social media that she was still dealing with anxiety — but was learning to overcome it.
Through it all, Lattanzi has always made it clear that her mom’s been with her every step of the way, and vice versa. In a 2018 column for Now to Love, Lattanzi revealed that her mother’s experiences with cancer left a fear of loss in her from an early age. Newton-John battled cancer for the first time in 1992, and experienced a recurrence in 2013. Now that the singer is battling cancer for a third time, Lattanzi said it’s still difficult to watch her mother — and her hero — be faced with such a challenge.
“After going through a denial phase, I was angry that such a wonderful, kind, amazing, generous woman had to go through hell again,” Lattanzi wrote. “It is terrifying and unfair, and it makes me mad that such a beautiful woman has to face this. But my mum has taught me the power of positive thinking and enjoying every moment. We both try to protect each other. Mum stays positive and I do my best to stay positive, too … Mum and I have never been as close as we are today — we’re both learning how to protect each other and how to talk about this without being scared.”
Newton-John has certainly maintained a positive attitude throughout her experience with cancer. She gives regular interviews and updates about her condition to fans, and recently, just auctioned off hundreds of items and memorabilia to raise money for her Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Australia. The iconic black outfit she wore at the end of Grease sold for over $400,000 over the weekend. The actress has found solace during her difficult journey in both philanthropy and family.
Turning to Family in Times of Need
So many survivors turn to the strength they find within their own families when the cancer battle gets difficult. In fact, here at SurvivorNet we’ve interviewed many moms and daughters who have told us that going through cancer together impacted their relationships in some pretty amazing ways.
In a previous interview, one survivor named Melissa Berry explained how dealing with the disease presented an unexpected bonding moment for her and her young daughter, Erica. Melissa was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer when she was 42 years old; Erica was only seven at the time.
As a parent, having to tell your child you have cancer can be one of the toughest things about facing the disease. Many survivors have told us that while they wanted to be honest with their kids, they also wanted to protect them. In Melissa and Erica’s case — as with Newton-John and Lattanzi — the experience made them stronger … especially since a 7-year-old Erica got to help her mom shave her head.
At the time, Erica was obsessed with becoming a hair dresser, and gladly buzzed her mom’s hair off.
“It was the first big step that she really took in her whole journey,” Erica told SurvivorNet when reflecting on her mom’s battle with the disease. “It was cool to be a part of it with her.”
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