Why Olivia Newton-John hid her third cancer diagnosis from fans
Olivia Newton-John said she is grateful for the "gift of extra time" as she continues to battle cancer.
In a new interview with America's TODAY show, Newton-John revealed that she had been hiding a third cancer diagnosis in 2013 from fans. The 70-year-old singer and actress previously went public with her first breast cancer diagnosis in 1992 and her last in 2018.
“I just decided I wanted to go through it myself.” @olivianj explains to @nmoralesnbc why she chose to keep her third time fighting cancer to herself and the treatments she’s using to manage her cancer pic.twitter.com/bZo0hEvJvz
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) 8 March 2019
"Because of the speculation," Newton-John said. "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."
Earlier this year, Newton-John took to social media to address the rumours about her health, which emerged after her latest cancer diagnosis was announced. In a video, she said, "Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
The Grease star said of the video, "They were telling me I was dying, and I thought, 'I don't feel like it, I'm feeling pretty good'.
"But you know, rumours start, then it gets out of control and I decided, 'No, I'm going to come out and talk about it', because I have many friends and family around the world and I can’t call everyone, so I need to let them know that I'm OK."
Despite having three cancer diagnoses within the past three decades, Newton-John has remained optimistic.
"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. I'm 70, and I've had the most amazing life."
In an interview with Channel Seven’s Sunday Night last year, the four-time Grammy award winner revealed that she used to be “scared” about her health issues.
"I'd be lying if I said I never go there," said Newton-John. "There are moments, I'm human. If I allowed myself to go there, I could easily create that big fear. But my husband's always there, and he's there to support me.
"I believe I will win over it … That's my goal."