Stop The Cruel Lies
The singer breaks her silence to crush malicious rumours about her cancer
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN has spoken out for the first time announcing she had breast cancer. The singer decided to grant Woman’s Day an exclusive interview to counter a cruel report published this week, which claims she is physically and emotionally devastated by chemotherapy treatment.
The story, which first surfaced in Britain, states Olivia, 44, is blackly depressed about the future and convinced her cancer is a “punishment for all the good.
On furthermore quotes an unnamed “friend” as saying Olivia phones every night in tears, terrified that she will “never act or sing again”.
Olivia hadn’t planned to give any interviews until she completed her treatment, but was so upset by these allegations that she was compelled to break her silence.
From her ranch home in Malibu. California, she says: “It upsets me that some publications are printing such Inaccurate stories and quotes from so called “friends”, pertaining to my illness.”
“This is putting a very negative light on a situation that calls for a positive attitude and a great deal of support. Contrary to what you may be hearing and reading. I am doing very well. I am halfway through my chemotherapy and my spirits are very good.”
“I want to encourage women to have regular examinations and mammograms to stress, if breast cancer is caught early, it is curable.”
She continues: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the people in Australia who have written to me.”
“I appreciate their kind thoughts and good wishes-they have really made me feel loved and strengthened during this difficult time.”
The allegations have also outraged Olivia’s family and close friends, who are full of admiration for the brave front she has put on throughout the ordeal of chemotherapy. They, too, are keen to set the record straight - not just for Olivia, but for the many thousands of women around the world who are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
“That story is cruel and wrong,” says Olivia’s niece, Tottie Goldsmith, the Melbourne-based actress and one-time singer with the Chantoozies band. “I can say, from speaking to Olivia every other week, that she’s in great form on every level. She’s on top of the situation and sounds very bright and positive.”
“My sister. Fiona, lives near Olivia in California and sees her all all the time. Fiona says Olivia looks great, too, and there is no truth in the rumours that she’s losing her hair. I know that can be a side-effect of chemo but in Olivia’s case, there has been no hair loss.”
“Naturally she feels tired and a bit unwell after the treatments, but that’s nothing unusual.”
“I suppose because Olivia has led such a healthy life and has a very ‘clean’ body she eats only organic foods and won’t have anything processed in her diet the drugs they use in chemotherapy would have that much more of an impact on her system. She gets sick immediately afterwards but, as I said, that’s normal.”
Tottie’s comments are backed up by close friends like Olivia’s personal publicist, Sylvi Brown. “Most of that story is untrue.” Sylvi stresses. “Olivia is in good spirits and, as is normal with her, adjusting to the situation as best she can. Most people are not excited about chemotherapy!”
It is evident the singer’s spirits are buoyed by the love and support of her actor husband Matt Lattanzi, 33, and their adored daughter Chloe, 6. And Olivia’s passion for healthy eating and physical fitness will no doubt boost her chances of a full recovery. She doesn’t drink alcohol, smoke or take drugs and follows a mainly vegetarian diet, with few dairy products.
She plays tennis, jogs, swims and takes long walks through the hills which provide the stunning backdrop for her Malibu ranch.
The singer was diagnosed as having cancer in July, after finding a lump in her right breast during a routine annual mammogram.
She was admitted to Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles for a partial mastectomy. Tissue samples taken from her left breast at the same time revealed the cancer had not spread, and doctors expect a full recovery.
Soon after surgery. Olivia began a six-month course of chemotherapy to kill off any residual cancer cells.
With tragic irony, the singer received confirmation of her condition only days after returning from Australia, where she’d seen her dying father. Professor Brinley Newton-John. In the same week, he finally succumbed to cancer.
Olivia had been on the verge of a major career comeback, with an American concert tour entitled Buck To Basics. But the tour was postponed only days before it was due to start in August.
Finally, Olivia released a statement about her condition, to prevent it being blown out of all proportion by America’s scandal magazines.
“I draw strength from the millions of women who have faced the challenge successfully,” her statement said. “This has been detected early because I’ve had regular examinations, so I encourage other women to do the same.”
The story which has so upset Olivia and her family claims that the singer believes a series of personal disasters notably the collapse of her Koala Blue clothing empire and the death of her best friend’s five-year-old daughter from cancer last year caused the cancer.
“We tell her to pull herself together but she’s convinced it’s all her fault,” the story quotes an unnamed “relative” as saying.
It also alleges she has collapsed emotionally and complains to friends: “I’ll never act or sing again. I’m so weak and tired all the time. I can’t even watch myself on TV or listen to records without remembering how I used to be, how fit I was.”
Her family is stunned by the malice of these claims.
“Olivia never ceases to amaze me, I admire her so much,” continues Tottie Goldsmith, the daughter of Olivia’s older sister, Rona. “Throughout all of this, she hasn’t dwelt on herself but asks after everybody else.”
“I know she keeps busy she and Matt are doing some building work on their house.”
“As for her career. I haven’t really spoken to her about that. So much else has been happening that we talk about other things.”
“I just want everyone to know that Olivia is, and always has been, a beautiful person.”
Story by Jennifer Gilbert
