Olivia Newton-John’s memoir Don’t Stop Believin’ , that recounts her major life experiences, including her fight against breast cancer, is set to be released to bookstores this week.
But you don’t have to wait, because she recently sat down for an interview with Today , and candidly revealed many things fans didn’t know about her battle with cancer.
RELATED STORIES
Most of us know Olivia Newton-John for playing the iconic role of Sandy in “Grease.”
Her performance was unforgettable and has gone down in history for being one of the most famous musicals of all time — a major staple in pop-culture.
The 70-year-old “Grease” star was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, after she discovered a lump in her right breast.
After nine months of chemotherapy, she was declared cancer-free.
While she was able to live her life for the following 21 years cancer-free, it returned in 2013, spreading to her shoulder.
Unfortunately, it then spread even further into her lower back .
Fans believed that this was Olivia’s second cancer diagnosis, but as we’re just finding out, it’s actually her third.
For a while, she wanted to keep that fact hidden.
“Because of the speculation,” she explained in the interview. “I just decided I wanted to go through it myself. I don’t know, it was just a decision that I’d keep it to myself that time,” She said .
She also didn’t want to fuel the rumors that she was on her deathbed.
“They were telling me I was dying, and I thought, ‘Well, I don’t feel like it. I feel pretty good!'” she recalled. “But, you know, rumors start and then it gets out of control,” She said .
In order to regain some control over all the rumors and speculation, she released a video on Twitter.
At the beginning of 2019, Olivia posted this video on Twitter, wishing everyone a happy start to the new year, and briefly addressed the rumors that she was dying.
“The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” she said , adding “I’m doing great.”
Olivia explained to Today, her reasoning behind her Twitter announcement.
“I decided, no, I’m going to come out and talk about it because I have many friends and family all around the world, and I can’t call everyone,” she said . “So I needed to let them know that I’m OK.”
Despite her ongoing struggle to fight cancer, she’s always appeared to have a strong and optimistic outlook.
In fact, she doesn’t even like to say that she’s fighting or battling cancer. Instead, she prefers to say she is “thriving” against, or “winning over” cancer.
She has undergone radiation, completely changed her diet, and has been using cannabis oil as part of her treatment.
And although she is doing everything she can to defeat the cancer, she has revealed in the past that this particular type of breast cancer is difficult to treat .
“I think, you know, what you think creates your reality. So it’s a decision. You have to make that decision,” she said.
“You can be a victim, or you can be a winner and enjoy your life.”
She believes that remaining positive and hopeful during this time is the only way that she can truly make the most of the time she has left.
She added that she also thinks that at this point, any time she has is “extra time.”
“We’re all going to die,” she said.
“I mean, that’s probably the hardest thing to accept as a human being, that we know that.”
“So I kind of consider I’ve had a gift of extra time. I’ve lost people younger than me, so I’m very grateful,” she said.
“I’m 70, and I’ve had the most amazing life.” She added .
“I had extra time, so whatever that is, I’m grateful for it,” she said, adding:
“I’ll just enjoy every day — that’s all you can do.”
Her outlook on life is truly inspiring.
She has managed to bravely accept the cards she has been dealt, and turn it into something positive — something that everyone, with or without cancer should strive for.
