Olivia Newton-John Is Battling Breast Cancer for the Third Time
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Two years after learning that she was facing stage 4 breast cancer, Olivia Newton-John is facing another tough battle with the disease. According to Entertainment Tonight Canada, Newton-John opened up about her new situation with Gayle King on CBS This Morning, saying that she's never ever felt like a victim and that she intends to keep on living her life and ignoring all the statistics that come with a cancer diagnosis.
"I'm happy. I'm lucky. I'm grateful. I have much to live for. And I intend to keep on living it," she told King. "I never felt victimized. I never felt, 'Why not?' Maybe deep down I knew there was a reason or a purpose for it, or maybe I needed to create one to make it okay for myself."
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Back in 2013, Newton-John learned that her breast cancer had actually spread to her back. Because of that, she was dealing with a "crying kind of pain." While some may have looked at a second bout with cancer as a death sentence, she noted that it only made her more resilient. Now that she's facing it for the third time, she says that she's not going to let bad news rule her life. Instead, she's determined to live longer than any studies or stats predict.
"In my opinion, if they give you a percentage, or you know, 'This many women get this and they live this long,' you can create that and make it happen," Newton-John explained. "It's almost like — I think I know what the statistics are. And if, and, but I put them away. But I'm gonna live longer than that. I've made that decision. And I don't buy into the statistics because I think they can make you really nervous."
Newton-John also told King that she's got a new view about death after her multiple diagnoses. She doesn't see it as a macabre inevitability. She tries not to think about it and turns to meditation to keep herself from getting too caught up in the idea of dying and her cancer.
"And, of course, if you have a cancer diagnosis, your death is kind of there. Whereas most people, we don't have a clue when we're gonna die," she continued. "I could die tomorrow. A tree could fall on me. So, it's just that we have that knowledge that we could die. I'm not – I try not to think about it too much. But I try to meditate and be peaceful about it and know that everyone I love is there."
