This week, many are mourning the loss of Olivia Newton-John, talented actress and singer. But you may not know that she also worked tirelessly to bring awareness to breast and other cancers, publicly sharing her own breast cancer journey since her diagnosis in 1992 at age 44.
During her 30 years as a breast cancer survivor, she also promoted research into causes, treatment and cures of these diseases, setting up and funding a cancer research center in her home country, Australia. As well, she was a proponent of natural medicines that could be added to standard cancer treatment, including medical marijuana and other herbals medicines, and encouraged adoption of these into regular treatment programs.
She was the star of another film you may not have heard about...
There’s a good chance you’ve seen her box office hit films, Grease and Xanadu. But you may not be aware of her appearance (as host) in the 1997 documentary film, Exposure: Environmental Links to Breast Cancer, where she talks about her cancer journey and research into environmental causes of cancer. I was shocked at some of the facts I learned when I first saw the documentary and, sadly, many people have still not heard this information, even though the film was made 25 years ago. The connections to cancer they discuss are still relevant, and I’d encourage you to watch it... the full 50-minute documentary is available (for free) here (also posted in the references/links below).
I also wrote a blog on this subject in Sept, 2021: Environmental Links to Cancer. You can find it here. It includes some of the information I learned from Olivia Newton-John's documentary, if you’re interested in reading it.
So, only a short blog this week... I think I just wanted to pass along Olivia Newton-John's message: to learn all you can about preventing cancer, and that many risk factors are under your control. We just need to learn what they are, and work to make the needed changes in our environment and lifestyle.
Let’s celebrate the life of Olivia Newton-John by continuing the work she started to reduce our risk of developing cancer! Please pass these links along to others who might benefit from cancer prevention information...
References and links:
Olivia Newton-John's cancer-research legacy – BBC News
Environmental Links to Cancer – J Collins Beaudin's Health Blog
Documentary film: Exposure: Environmental Links to Breast Cancer – Culture Unplugged
