Olivia Newton-John reveals new health setback
After a number of health complications, Olivia Newton-John is on the road to recovery as she battles stage 4 breast cancer.
Speaking to People magazine in a new interview, the 70-year-old has revealed how she has spent the last six months recovering from a fractured pelvis due to cancer weakening her bones.
Newton-John only discovered the fracture in September, after she felt excruciating pain during a cancer walk for her Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne, which is where she received treatment.
The Grease star was forced to celebrate her 70th birthday in hospital rather than the extravagant party that was originally planned in Los Angeles.
“There were all these things I was going to do for my birthday,” the actress and singer admitted. “But God had other plans.”
However, despite the drastic change of plans, the Australian-born star was surrounded by her family and friends as they held an intimate dinner in the hospital ward.
These challenges are enough to make anyone feel defeated, but Newton-John still remains positive.
“I never say, ‘Why me.’ I was like, ‘Wow, I’m in my hospital that I’d dreamt of building for people to have rest and peace and there I was getting the best care,’” she said. “It was quite magical.”
This is Newton-John’s third battle with cancer, with the deadly disease spreading to her sacrum. Her first diagnosis was in 1992 and then in 2013.
She has chosen to take the natural route when it comes to treatment, as she uses a combination of herbs, oral medication prescribed by her oncologist, and medical cannabis.
Despite these trying times, she revealed to the magazine that it’s her support system – comprised of her daughter Chloe Lattanzi, family and friends – that have helped provide her with the strength to push through it.
In January, Newton-John was in the centre of a tabloid frenzy as certain publications reported that she was dying and only had a few “weeks” to live.
The four-time Grammy award winner addressed the morbid rumours through a video where she revealed that she was doing just fine.
But speaking to People, Newton-John said the entire ordeal was hard on her loved ones.
“My friends were calling and believing this stuff. I had to say, ‘You really think if it was that bad you wouldn’t know?’”
And progress is being made, as once upon a time the star would be forced to use a walker to get from A to B, then a cane, and now “nothing”.
Opening up on the status of her current health, the triple threat star said: “I’m feeling good, just getting stronger.”