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John Travolta Speaks Out About Olivia Newton-John's Breast Cancer Battle

Photo credit: John Sciulli - Getty Images
Photo credit: John Sciulli - Getty Images

Editor's note: This story was originally published in January 2020. It was announced on August 8, 2022, that Olivia Newton-John had died at the age of 73. . Her rep confirmed the news, saying Olivia "died peacefully at her ranch in Southern California Monday morning, surrounded by family and friends."

If you would like to celebrate Olivia's life, you can make a donation to the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund: ONJFoundationFund.org.


In case you needed further proof that longtime friends (and Grease costars!) John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John go together, they met up again at a fundraising dinner this weekend — and John only had the sweetest things to say about Olivia.

Just one month after their special Grease sing-a-long screenings in Florida, John and Olivia reunited at the G'Day USA 2020 Standing Together event in Beverly Hills. The annual dinner celebrates all the ways in which Australia and the United States work together (and this year, raised money for Australian wildfire relief), and John and Olivia have both attended several times in the past.

Photo credit: John Sciulli - Getty Images
Photo credit: John Sciulli - Getty Images

While talking to reporters at the event, John opened up about his longtime friend Olivia's ongoing battle with breast cancer (something that he has remained relatively tight-lipped about up until now).

"Olivia is a survivor, and she's smart, and she's got a lot of life in her," John said, according to People. "I think she looks at it from the glass half full always, and that's her beautiful, natural approach towards life. And I think we all need to do that."

Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer for the third time in 2017, when she was told the cancer had also spread to her bones. She went public with the diagnosis in September 2018 and has been open about how she's treating her cancer with a mix of pharmaceutical medications and herbal remedies — including cannabis — ever since.

Photo credit: Rodin Eckenroth - Getty Images
Photo credit: Rodin Eckenroth - Getty Images

The pop music legend says that this regimen, along with her positive attitude, have made a real difference in how she feels now.

"[Positivity is] really a decision," Olivia told Good Housekeeping in September. "And once you make that decision, you kind of train your brain to stay there, so it becomes normal...I talk to my body and I thank it for every step it makes of improvement. And I thank it anyway! It's really a practice because you create your world by what you think."

At the G'Day USA event on Saturday, Olivia confirmed that she's "doing well" and continuing to support cancer research as she fights her own battle with the disease.

"Life is a gift. I've had an amazing life and I intend to keep going with it, and I want to help other people with cancer, of course," said Olivia, who founded the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Australia in 2012. "I'm winning over it well, and that's how I see it."


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