Cancer 'Thriver' Olivia Newton-John
- In a new interview, the Aussie singer, actress, and breast cancer thriver, talks about living with cancer and her dreams when it comes to cancer care.
- The singer was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, and she had a recurrence of the disease on 2017; she is currently living with advanced breast cancer.
- Breast cancer is typically detected via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue.
For as much career and advocacy success as she’s had, Newton-John says there’s still a lot more she aspires to do. “I'd like to see a world beyond cancer,” she tells Closer. “I think I've accomplished everything I dreamt of and more, and I'm so grateful for that. I want to be able to give back and help other people going through cancer. I don't think it can get more important than that.”
Olivia’s Breast Cancer Journey
Newton-John currently has advanced-stage breast cancer. She's shared her cancer journey very publicly, too, and used it as a way to raise awareness around the disease. The singer was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She underwent chemotherapy and had 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. She underwent radiation treatment for the recurrence.
Related: When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Newton-John spoke about her battle with breast cancer. She says, “My dream is to find kinder ways to treat cancer. Because all of you watching, if you’ve been through chemotherapy, you’ve been through radiation, there’s got to be a way that we can boost the body’s immune system without poisoning it.”
Newton-John is a big proponent of using marijuana as a way to mitigate the pain of cancer. She says, “Cannabis has been my go-to for pain, for sleep, for everything. In fact, when I was in the hospital two years ago and I was on high doses of morphine for the pain from my sacrum that broke from metastases, I weaned myself off the morphine with cannabis.”
Screening for Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is typically detected via mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer. Women with an average risk of breast cancer meaning, women who have no family history of the disease and no incidence of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation should get annual mammograms age 45 to 54.
Related: When You're Getting a Mammogram, Ask About Dense Breasts
Women with a higher risk of the disease should begin screening earlier. In an earlier interview, Dr. Connie Lehman, chief of the Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, emphasizes the importance of screening. She says, “If you haven’t gone through menopause yet, I think it’s very important that you have a mammogram every year. We know that cancers grow more rapidly in our younger patients, and having that annual mammogram can be lifesaving.”
Related: Getting to Know Your Breasts with Self-Exams
“After menopause, it may be perfectly acceptable to reduce that frequency to every two years,” says Dr. Lehman. “But what I’m most concerned about is the women who haven’t been in for a mammogram for two, three, or four years, those women that have never had a mammogram. We all agree regular screening mammography saves lives.”
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