Stronger Than Before
Olivia Newton-John lost a breast to cancer. Now the singer is promoting a way to help spot the danger early. By Judy Hobson.
F YOU are up close and personal with singer Olivia Newton-John, it is hard to believe this star, who got a whole generation of women into black leather with the phenomenally successful film Grease, will be 57 in September. The singer, clad in tight jeans, brown suede jacket and high heel boots, has not gained an ounce since she strutted her stuff to You’re The One That I Want with John Travolta in what must be one of the sexiest routines in movie history.
With her flawless complex-ion, blonde hair and warm smile, it is easy to see why she was voted one of the World’s 50 Most Beautiful People in America’s People magazine.
Olivia - Liv to her friends - is a survivor. Thirteen years ago she was waging a personal battle with breast cancer at the same time as mourning the loss of her father. Three years later her marriage broke up.
It was on July 4, 1992, that she received the diagnosis. “1 remember that date,” she says, “not only because it was Independence Day and my brother’s birthday, but also the day I got the news my dad had died. I could not go to his funeral because I had to start treatment straightaway.”
Since having her daughter Chloe in 1986 at the age of 36, Olivia regularly examined her breasts and had cervical smear tests. “Throughout my life I’ve had a history of finding breast lumps, but they were always normal. Then, one day, I found a lump in my right breast that felt different.”
What confounded her was that a subsequent mammogram was negative, as was a needle biopsy. “I instinctively knew something was wrong. I was tired and not sleeping well and felt completely out of tune with my body. “Fortunately, my doctor and surgeon agreed that further investigation was necessary, so I had a surgical biopsy.”
“When I got the news I kept it from Chloe. She was only six and, the previous year, had lost her best childhood friend to cancer. But I had long conversations on the phone with my mum back in Australia.”
“I had a radical modified mastectomy in which they took all the tissue and cancer away. I count myself lucky because, when they did the mastectomy, they did a breast implant at the same time, so I was never without a breast.”
"Breast cancer has been the biggest battle of my life."
“But I was so happy to still be alive and be there for my daughter that it wouldn’t have mattered if I had not had the implant. I’m not that attached to my breasts. They are not that important a part of my anatomy. We women should remember we are much more than just breasts. But having said that, it is easy for me to talk because I had immediate reconstructive surgery.”
“Now cancer is striking the under-35s, I believe all women from 22 on should get into the habit of checking their breasts at least once a month and learn to be in tune with their bodies.”
A passionate environmentalist who has been a goodwill ambassador for the environment programme of the UN - Olivia is convinced the increased incidence of breast cancer has a lot to do with our abuse of planet Earth. “Women are a reflection of the planet and connected to Mother Earth,” she says, “so when she gets ill, we get ill. I am doing a little bit to help and belong to Planet Ark, a group working to plant and save trees in Australia.”
Though she lives in Malibu, California, Olivia has a farm near Byron Bay, just north of Brisbane, where she went to recuperate and still stays whenever she can to recharge her batteries. She has planted a rainforest of 10,000 trees there.
Now, to help women detect changes in their breast tissue, Olivia has personally endorsed Liv Kit, a self-examination kit that magnifies such changes.
“I was appearing in Las Vegas last year when I was shown the kit. I was keen to see how it worked. What is exciting is that it makes any small changes in your breast appear bigger, and therefore a lump ia easier to find,” she says.
“I showed it to my oncologist who thought it was wonderful. That was a thumbs up for me and I had no hesitation in agreeing to become involved.”
She had already given he name to a new £20m cancer centre at the Austin Hospital campus in her hometown Melbourne. Olivia takes a close interest in its progress.
“They are doing a lot of investigation into melanoma and cell immunology,” she says “The Austin has always been a great hospital, but it had poor buildings. I am helping to raise money for the centre to be built and the government has promised to match this.”
Eight months of chemotherapy followed Olivia’s surgery. It was the example of Irene, her mum, who always kept going in spite of the pain and disability of osteoporosis, that helped Olivia get through it. “Chemo is pretty brutal, but I did not lose my hair. They put this thing like a tea cosy full of ice on my head. Apparently, it is the first rush of chemo that kills the fastest-growing cells in your body, which are your hair cells. The cap protects you from this first rush.”
Sadly, in 1995, when she was on the road to recovery, she also suffered the breakdown of her marriage to Chloe’s father, Matt Lattanzi, a dancer she met on the film set of Xanadu in 1980 and married four years later.
“When you are going through something life-threatening, it really brings things to the fore. The split might have happened anyway, but not as quickly. Cancer makes your life more intense. I am pleased to say we remain friends.”
Eight years ago Olivia found love again, this time with cameraman Patrick McDermott, eight years her junior, who she met while filming a commercial.
Doing what she does best, putting her experiences into song, not only proved cathartic for Olivia but enabled her relaunch her career after a break of almost a decade. Her album Gaia: One Woman’s Journey, with heartfelt numbers such as Don’t Cut Me Down and Not Gonna Give In To It has given support to countless other women during fighting cancer. In 1999, she received an Emmy for her songwriting on her next album, Back With A Heart.
“To Hindus, Gaia means the spirit of mother earth, and my inspiration for that album came from her. I was recuperating on my farm surrounded by nature. The area reflects the basic spirit of Australia and is where I feel most grounded.”
Olivia is now sharing this “little piece of heaven” with others. In March, in partnership with friends, she opened the Gaia Retreat and Spa not far from the farm. It’s no surprise to learn the retreat uses recycled rainwater, has spa treatments that use minimal water, has fruit bearing trees you can eat from and that every guest is invited to plant a tree.
"Yet still like to think of myself as a little bit English"
For most of each year, she and Chloe live at her Malibu beach house, but there are always three or four long visits to Australia. “I suppose you could say I am a bit of a mix. I was born in Cambridge, England. I grew up in Melbourne. I am Welsh on my dad’s side, German and a little Jewish on my mum’s. I split my time between the US and Australia, and yet still like to think of myself as a little bit English.”
“Though we moved when I was five I can remember riding my tricycle along our street in Cambridge and being really frightened of the low flying planes from the nearby airbase. I went back 20 years ago and everything looked much smaller than I remembered.”
Olivia’s parents were academics and, understandably, a little disappointed when she opted for a career in pop. In a German accent, Olivia mimics her mum, who was always telling her, “You must do a course. You need a qualification”. But she adds, “I was a stubborn teenager and just went on with my singing.”
Olivia’s big break came when she won an Australian TV talent contest in 1963, singing Cilla Black’s hit Anyone Who Had A Heart. The first prize was a trip to the UK.
“Funnily enough, it was mum who made me go,” she recalls. “I was only 15 and very involved with a boy and reluctant to leave him behind. But she made me do it. Even when I got here I tried to book flights back to Australia, but mum would find out and stop me.” Olivia’s career took off and the teenage romance fizzled out.
For two years from 1964 she toured the UK as part of a duo with fellow Australian Pat Carroll, still a friend and now a neighbour in Malibu. The duo were often a support act to The Shadows. When Pat had to return to Australia, Olivia struck out on her own and cut her first single, Till You Say You’ll Be Mine. Appearances on Cliff Richard’s TV series followed.
In 1975 she left for the US to promote her album Have You Been Mellow. In 1978, Grease shot her to superstardom.
For someone who danced with Gene Kelly in Xanadu and Travolta in Grease, has a long list of hits and been awarded an OBE, Olivia is very down to earth, unlike many showbiz contemporaries. When asked how she still manages to look so trim, she smiles and says, “I’m lucky. I am one of those people who always stay slim.” Then she admits she does exercise in her gym, walks a lot on the beach at Malibu and, like her good friend Cliff, plays tennis whenever she can.
"I was so happy to still be alive and be there for my daughter."
I met Olivia when she was in London for the release, on Universal, of her CD Indigo - Women of Song. She describes it as a collection of classics sung originally by female vocalists who inspired her. Tracks include that first hit, Anyone Who Had A Heart, plus Where Have All The Flowers Gone and Send In The Clowns.
She is now working on another survivor album, Stronger Than Before, to raise breast cancer awareness. It will feature nine new songs written by Olivia and other cancer survivors, and one by her daughter Chloe, now 19, who has already accompanied her on tour.
“Chloe is currently cutting her debut album,” says Olivia. “I just hope she really feels the passion, because then she will make it in the business.”
Passion, indeed, is Olivia’s secret. She is passionate about everything survival, protecting women from cancer, taking care of the environment, music and, above all, life itself.
Liv Kit helps women detect cancer
One of the reasons Olivia Newton-John agreed to be the public face of Liv Kit, a new breast self-examination kit, is that she does not want her 19-year-old daughter Chloe and her generation to have to worry about breast cancer.
It was thanks to self-examination that Olivia found her cancer early enough to be treated. “Breast cancer,” she says, “has been the biggest battle of my life. I will stop at nothing to protect the future health and well-being of women all over the world. I think promoting the kit is a natural and motherly thing to do.”
Olivia uses it every month herself and hopes its promotion will help women become more breast aware. It is named Liv, after her, though she likes to think it also stands for Life.
The kit, which was launched in the UK by Good for Health in April, acts like a magnifying glass for the hand by increasing the sense of touch when you check your breasts for lumps.
It consists of a reusable soft pink polyurethane pad, which is filled with a non-toxic silicone lubricant. When you place the pad on one of your breasts, it allows your fingers to glide smoothly over it. Somehow, when they are feeling through plastic, fingers become more sensitive, enabling them to detect any change in your breast tissue.
“If you sprinkle some fine salt on the table and feel it through the pad, the salt feels like grains of sugar,” Olivia says. “It has that kind of effect and so it helps women feel lumps much more easily than by using their hands alone.”
“When I heard someone had brought a kit to show me in Las Vegas, I did not know what to expect. As soon as I saw how it worked, I was blown away. The marvellous thing is that any changes that might be going on in your breasts feel so much bigger thanks to this aid.”
By spending a few minutes every month examining their breasts, Olivia believes that women can learn what is normal for them. “The reason I am still here today is that I knew my body and what felt normal and what did not.”
The kit also includes a journal, with diagrams and instructions on what changes to look for and how to go about examining your breasts, plus a monthly diary where you can record observations. There is black velvet in which to store the reusable pad. The whole kit looks very feminine and comes in a pink and cream box bearing Olivia’s photograph.
Liv Kit was invented by American engineer Don Perry, whose sister died of cancer in the late Eighties. He was determined to find a better way for women to detect changes in their breast tissue.
The instructions have been compiled by Dr Ernie Bodai, a breast cancer surgeon, and the kit has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Liv Kit costs £24.95 and is available from leading chemists, There is an advice line, tel: 0870 225 2022, and further information on the website: (www.goodforhealth.com).