Give Time To Yourselves, Olivia Newton-John Tells Breast Cancer Patients

By Yong Soo Heong KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Olivia Newton-John, a four-time Grammy Award winner and one-time breast cancer patient, says women with breast cancer must take good care of themselves first and give time to themselves. “This is because women very often put everybody else first, their family first, their children first, their husbands first. When you are going through something like breast cancer, you have to take care of yourself first, find that place or something that you love to do, like taking a walk, give time to yourself,” she said in an interview with Bernama in Genting Highlands near here Thursday night. Newton-John, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 1992 but was able to overcome it, is now a passionate speaker about her battle with breast cancer and is raising public awareness on the importance of early detection. “I call myself a cancer thriver, not a survivor because survivor sounds like you are still hanging on. Now I am past it (breast cancer), I am healthy and thriving, and I am trying to help people to think in a positive way even though it was scary in the beginning, especially in the first five years. “To women out there who have breast cancer, the best thing I can say is ’I am here still' and that’s already 20 years!” Newton-John, who led a team of cancer survivors and celebrities on a trek along the Great Wall of China in April 2008, said it was also important to find support from friends – “Let people help you, sometimes we find it hard to let people help us.” ”And find some philosophies that you believe in, some belief systems, whatever they are (for) they are all wonderful ... so that you can keep your mind in a positive way,” said the singer, who is also regarded as one of the living treasures of Australia. “Eat well, of course” said Newton-John, who has also written a book, "LivWise: Easy Recipes for a Healthy, Happy Life”, which explains her belief on the importance of eating a healthy diet in order to maintain wellness and balance. Her eyes lit up when asked about the soon-to-be-opened state-of-the-art Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre (ONJCWC) at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Set to open in June this year, the centre will build on more than 125 years of cancer care and expertise at the hospital, treating all types of cancer, and will focus on developing innovative cancer therapies and international research programmes. “When I was going through cancer, I believe that what helped me through was the wellness programmes that I did. I had surgery and chemotherapy for eight months, but I also did acupuncture, meditation, a lot of massage, homeopathy and herbs to take care of my immune system,” she said, adding that her current husband, John Easterling, founder of the Amazon Herb Company, which specialises in medicinal plants from rainforests, also introduced her to medicinal herbs. “Those things are the philosophies that I want at the centre, which carries my name, to help people stay positive,” she said, adding that a holistic approach was needed because it could be rather difficult to include wellness philosophies like meditation, yoga and massage if it was established in a government-run hospital although government authorities were now becoming more open to alternative therapies. “At the centre, it’s also about learning how to eat properly, to think positively,” said Newton-John, who recently had a second rose variety named after her, “Our Honey Olivia”, which would also help raise funds for ONJCWC. The singer, who cut her first record in 1966 and sang to a near-sellout crowd of 3,000 at Genting’s “Arena of Stars” last night, was asked why was she still doing “live” shows after being in the business for more than 40 years. “I enjoy it, I have fun, I enjoy singing, I enjoy performing to different audiences. Until they don’t come, until they don’t show up, I’ll do it. When they stop coming, I’ll stop,” she said with a chuckle. When asked how she coped with fame and disappointment in the high-pressure entertainment industry whereas some artistes had died prematurely even while at their prime, Newton-John said, “I think was lucky in the way I was brought up. My parents were academics, believed in hard work, and didn’t give praises easily if you didn’t work hard. So I didn’t take anything for granted, I was being realistic and still am. Tomorrow night, somebody else might be singing (on stage) and they (the audience) will be clapping for that person, so you have to keep a sense of reality of what you are doing.” The singer, known for her chart-topping hits like “Hopelessly Devoted To You”, “I Honestly Love You” and “Summer Nights”, said she was also lucky that she had good people around her throughout her singing career and possessed the “not going to give in to it” spirit. Newton-John said her mother had wanted her to go to university, but she did not and embarked on a singing career instead. Her mother, she said, was very supportive of her musical ambitions and her father eventually accepted her as a pop singer although he wanted her to be an opera singer. “It took a while for him to reconcile that I was a pop singer but he was happy by the time he left this planet. He was happy with what I was doing,” she recalled. Asked what makes her happy and contented these days, Newton-John replied, "Waking up, (knowing that you are) surviving every other day, spending time with my husband, just being at home, going to the beach for a walk, being out here, singing. I get pleasure from doing and enjoying all these.” Newton-John, who was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth in 1979, also said that becoming a mother to daughter Chloe was her greatest personal achievement, while singing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics was probably one of her favourite professional experiences. On her next project besides ONJCWC, she said she was planning something with John Travolta, her co-star in the most successful musical movie, ”Grease”. “I can’t talk about it now,” she said, adding that she had just released a dance soundtrack from the movie, ”A Few Best Men”. -- BERNAMA