Olivia Newton-John has been battling Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer for years, and in a new interview on the Today show, she says she’s “feeling pretty good” due to medical cannabis.
The pop superstar and actor appeared on the show on Oct. 20 to talk to Hoda Kotb about the 40th anniversary of her iconic hit “Physical,” and when she found out that Kotb had also gone through a bout with breast cancer 14 years ago, they formed an instant bond.
“We’re sisters,” the singer and Grease star tells Kotb. “Anyone that has gone on this journey with cancer, it’s unknown destinations and surprises and turns.”
Newton-John survived a bout with breast cancer in 1992, and again in 2013. She was diagnosed again in May of 2018, and she found out it had spread to her spine, forcing her to cancel tour dates and seek alternative forms of treatment. In January of 2019, the singer turned to Twitter to welcome the new year by refuting tabloid reports that she was “clinging to life.”
She tells Kotb that she’s staying positive and doing reasonably well, all things considered.
“I have my days, I have my pains, but the cannabis that my husband grows for me has been such a huge part of my healing, and so I’m a really lucky person,” she says.
Newton-John has even continued recording during her health battles, though it’s been years since she’s performed concerts.
“For me, singing is my soul,” she states. “And I don’t miss the touring, but I do love to sing and I like to write songs. So I don’t know yet what I’m going to do about that. At the moment I just enjoy being because we are human beings.”
He Heard She Had Cancer, So He Stepped Up Big Time
Country Stars Who’ve Been Affected by Cancer