Celine Dion's Journey with Grief
- Celine Dion lost her late husband, René Angélil, to throat cancer in 2016. He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, but it returned in 2014.
- She says her husband is still with her and their three sons even after his death. She also says her life is full of so much love at the moment that she is content without another intimate relationship.
- Throat cancer is linked with HPV, so doctors recommend children and young adults get the HPV vaccine.
Angélil was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, but it went into remission for some time. Unfortunately, Angélil was diagnosed with throat cancer again after doctors found a lump on his neck in 2014. He had surgery to treat the cancer and doctors removed parts of his tongue. Two years later, he passed away at the age of 73.
Read More“Right this second, love is so big right now in my life with my kids, with life itself, I’m not thinking about a relationship and falling in love again,” she said.
Despite being content without another romantic partner right now, she admits that it’s still hard to lose such an intimate and special relationship.
“I don’t date. I’m not ready to date,” Dion told TODAY. “But I miss to be touched, I miss to be hugged, I missed to be told ‘you’re beautiful,’ I miss what a boyfriend, and I miss what a husband would do.”
Dion might not be ready to date again, but she is pouring her heart in another direction a new Las Vegas residency. After two residencies over 16 years, Dion is moving on from the 4,100-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace to the 5,000 seat theater at Resorts World Las Vegas. She will open The Theatre with a 10-show run beginning Nov. 5.
Understanding Throat Cancer
Throat cancer is a type of head and neck cancer where cancerous cells originate in the throat, voice box or tonsils. We don’t know what caused Angélil’s cancer, but some of the main causes include smoking, drinking, a diet lacking in fruits or vegetables, acid reflux disease and the human papillomavirus (HPV).
Luckily, we have an HPV vaccine available that can help prevent throat cancers. Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, explains the link between throat cancer and HPV in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.
"There are no screening guidelines to screen for throat cancer, unlike cervical cancer with pap smears. And there are no standard tests to determine if you harbor the virus,” she said. “However, there is no concern that you're going to spread this cancer to your partner or to anyone else, because at this point your partner has already been exposed to the virus and likely cleared it."
Get the Facts: What Do We Know About HPV-Linked Throat Cancer?
"HPV-related throat cancer, generally, is very responsive to treatment with radiation and chemotherapy," Dr. Geiger said. "And the cure rates for patients who have HPV-related disease are a lot higher than those who have tobacco-related throat cancer."
Losing a Loved One to Cancer
Grief is inevitable and essential when losing a loved one to cancer. Allowing yourself the time and space to heal and sharing what you’re going through with others, like Celine Dion has done, can be hugely beneficial to the healing process. Everyone's journey of grief is unique, but therapy and support groups can be wonderful options to explore. It's also important to keep in mind that time does not heal everything, but it certainly helps.
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Doug Wendt shared his thoughts on the grieving process after losing his wife Alice to ovarian cancer.
"We're never gonna move on, I don't even think I want to move on, but I do want to move forward," Wendt said. "That's an important distinction, and I encourage anybody who goes through this journey as a caregiver and then has to face loss, to think very carefully about how to move forward."
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