An Update on Olivia Newton-John
- Olivia Newton-John, 72, reveals that she is missing her family who are in lockdown because of COVID in Australia while she is in California.
- The actress is fighting cancer for the second time after first being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and then in 2013, which has since metastasized.
- Newton-John embraces “evidenced-based wellness therapies” including everything from yoga and meditation to acupuncture and art.
The Grease star appeared on Sunrise Friday morning and said that her weakened immune state from battling cancer and the COVID lockdown that has been implemented across Australia has made it impossible for her to visit family members.
Read MoreShe said that she is “doing well” these days. The actress and singer has noted in the past that her use of cannabis and other plant-based remedies – in addition to surgery, chemo and immunotherapy – has played a crucial role in helping her fight the disease.
Aussie icon @olivianj‘s famous Walk For Wellness initiative is going virtual this year ðŸƒðŸ»â€â™€ï¸
The star spoke to Matt and Nat about her own cancer battle and how YOU can take part.https://t.co/9kSX7ORHG2 pic.twitter.com/gEdEfFRhiP
Sunrise (@sunriseon7) August 19, 2021
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre
Newton-John chatted with the Australian morning show so that she could promote her upcoming Wellness Walk, which is a fundraiser for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne.
Due to the lockdown and restrictions that are currently in place in Australia, the walk will be a virtual event this year.
“My birthday wish is that we raise a lot of money and we help a lot of people,” said Newton-John, who will turn 73 on the day of the event.
The actress will also reward the six biggest fundraisers by inviting them to join her at a virtual tea party.
"The idea is to get a group of your friends together and just walk and raise some money," explained Olivia.
The money raised at the event will help to fund the “evidenced-based wellness therapies” that are offered to patients at her Centre. Those include everything from yoga and meditation to acupuncture and art.
Newton-John feels that these activities can help to "ease the side effects of cancer treatment and support people with cancer emotionally, spiritually and physically."
The actress knows firsthand, having been a patient at the Centre.
"I was in the hospital a couple of years ago and got to experience all of these programs in my room and it made a huge difference to me," said Olivia. "It keeps you positive and in a great space.”
Newton-John’s Cancer Journey
Newton-John detailed her lengthy cancer journey in a 2020 interview with SurvivorNet.
The Grammy-winning singer was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 she revealed in that interview.
She underwent chemotherapy at that time as well as a modified radical mastectomy. That is a procedure where the entire breast is removed along with some of the lymph nodes located under the arm so as to extract all of a patient’s cancer while also allowing for the reconstruction of a new breast.
Newton-John’s cancer went into remission after those procedures and there were no problems for the next 20 years.
Then, in 2013, she learned her cancer had returned after she was in a car accident. What’s more, it was metastatic and had spread to her lymph nodes.
Newton-John again went into remission after she received hormone therapy.
Her cancer returned for a third time in 2017.
This time it had spread into her bones and spine. That growth caused Newton-John so much pain that she knew the diagnosis even before she had received her results.
What Is Hormone Therapy?
Newton-John used hormone therapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in 2013. It is a treatment that is recommended in cases where tumors are hormone receptor-positive.
In most cases, this requires taking a pill or receiving an injection of a drug that blocks or limits the ability of the body to produce a hormone, which in Newton-John’s case was estrogen.
That then slows the progression of the disease by depriving tumors of the hormone that had been fueling its growth.
Hormone therapy is most often used after surgery as a preventative measure to stop cancer from returning to the body. It is generally taken for five years after surgery, though some may stay on the therapy for as long as 10 years.
Unlike a number of other cancer treatments, hormone therapy does not compromise the immune system.
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