Olivia Newton-John is fighting breast cancer again
Twenty-five years after she was treated for breast cancer, Olivia Newton-John has postponed upcoming tour dates because the disease is back and has spread to her spine.
“In addition to natural wellness therapies, Olivia will complete a short course of photon radiation therapy, and is confident she will be back later in the year, better than ever, to celebrate her shows.”
After her initial diagnosis in 1992, the Australian singer-actor had a mastectomy and underwent seven months of chemotherapy. She established an eponymous Cancer Wellness and Research Center in Melbourne, and became an advocate for breast cancer patients, as well as other health causes.
The fact that breast cancer can recur decades after effective treatment comes as a surprise to many people, but not to metastatic breast cancer activists. In recent years, they have pushed for changes in the U.S. cancer surveillance program, because it collects data on the stage at initial diagnosis, but not on recurrences or progression. As a result, the number of patients who develop metastases is unknown, and five-survival data tend to feed a misconception that patients who make it to that milestone are “cured.”
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