Updated October 20th, 2020

Cancer Thriver Olivia Newton-John Keeps it Positive While on ‘Lockdown’ — ‘Good Things Are Coming Out of This Difficult Time’

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Singer/actress Olivia Newton-John is no stranger to struggle — she’s currently battling stage four breast cancer. Yet, even as people across the world grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, Newton-John is choosing to look on the bright side of things.

The “Grease” actress took to Instagram to share a poem that was sent to her by a friend about coming together in the face of uncertainty.

“I was sent this poem by a friend and it said many things I was thinking — because I also believe that good things are coming out of this difficult time — which too will pass. Father Richard Hendricks says it so beautifully here,” Newton-John, 71, wrote before including the full poem, which shares a message of love and community in these difficult times.

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I was sent this poem by a friend and it said many things I was thinking – because I also believe that good things are coming out of this difficult time – which too will pass. Father Richard Hendricks says it so beautifully here???????? (my new wash hands emoji!) LOCKDOWN Yes there is fear. Yes there is isolation. Yes there is panic buying. Yes there is sickness. Yes there is even death. But, They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise You can hear the birds again. They say that after just a few weeks of quiet The sky is no longer thick with fumes But blue and grey and clear. They say that in the streets of Assisi People are singing to each other across the empty squares, keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them. They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound. Today a young woman I know is busy spreading fliers with her number through the neighbourhood So that the elders may have someone to call on. Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way All over the world people are waking up to a new reality To how big we really are. To how little control we really have. To what really matters. To Love. So we pray and we remember that Yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate. Yes there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness. Yes there is panic buying. But there does not have to be meanness. Yes there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love. Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now. Today, breathe. Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic The birds are singing again The sky is clearing, Spring is coming, And we are always encompassed by Love. Open the windows of your soul And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, Sing. –Fr. Richard Hendrick
A post shared by Olivia Newton-john (@therealonj) on Mar 18, 2020 at 6:23am PDT

Newton-John has been facing her own health struggles recently. Her current battle with breast cancer is her third with the disease, and when she was diagnosed again in September 2018 — the cancer had spread and progressed to stage four. But positivity has always been a part of the Australian star’s battle.

In February, Newton-John announced that her treatment seemed to be working well during an appearance on Australian talk show “The Project.”

“I believe your belief system is part of the healing,” Newton-John explained on the show. “At my last MRI, which is an exam where they look inside, things are shrinking, going away, staying the same and I'm living well with it and I'm feeling great.”

In an interview with SurvivorNet last year, Newton-John explained that she was pairing traditional cancer therapy — which was hormone therapy at the time — with integrative methods like taking medical cannabis, as well as vitamins and antioxidants. Gratitude, she added, is an important part of her cancer journey as well.

Positivity has long been part of Newton-John’s approach to facing cancer.

“I've adjusted to living with cancer, which I am very lucky to say I'm able to do,” the actress said in an interview with SurvivorNet last year. “I'm doing really well. I think that this journey has increased my gratitude, really, because when you've had cancer a few times, and you don't know the outcome, you're just grateful for the moments you're having, or the days you're having, or the hours you're having.”

She went on to explain that her approach of pairing cancer therapy with some complementary herbal medicines was helping to ease some of the side effects people with cancer often experience.

The actress told SurvivorNet that her husband, John Easterling, the founder and chairman of Amazon Herb Company, makes her tinctures (liquid extracts) from cannabis that he grows himself. The star also said she was taking natural supplements, including turkey tail (an antioxidant-rich mushroom extract), Graviola supplements (derived from a plant believed to have medicinal properties), vitamin B17, and high doses of vitamin C, which she says she's been getting through an Amazonian fruit called camu camu.

Integrative medicine or the concept of combining traditional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy, surgery, etc., with alternative methods such as medical marijuana, acupuncture and supplements can play a big role in how certain patients recover from cancer. Of course, any alternative therapy should get the OK from a doctor, as some supplements and activities can actually have an adverse effect on people living with cancer.

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