Olivia Newton-John battling cancer for the third time

[quote]Newton-John is currently treating her cancer with a combination of natural treatments.

So, dead by Christmas, right?

It doesn't sound good. Have any of these natural treatments cured anyone of cancer?

Could be that conventional treatments might buy her a little extra time but she's chosen quality of life. It's a hard choice to make.

I think at this point she can't hope for a cure, just some ease as she heads towards the end. I am sorry because she is such a remarkable person.

Sad. Nice girl

Sad. She’s close to the end, too — my mother had spinal cancer and was dead in three weeks.

Plenty of time to get a farewell tour in.

Poor lady. She seems like a sweet person. Cancer is a terrifying plauge.

I hope her choice of treatment eases her pain as much as possible, until the end.

Very sad news. I've been a fan of hers since I was a 9-year-old gayling watching "Grease" in 1978.

This is the song I remember...

I've been a fan since the early 70's. There was something about her and her songs that were very innocent.

Cancer scares me more than anything in the world. Even if it was treated and I was declared to be “in remission” or whatever, I would live in constant fear that it would come back for the rest of my life.

It is an insidious disease R12. I had a girlfriend battle ovarian cancer for years. Unfortunately she lost the battle.

So sad. I've never heard a single bad word about Olivia Newton-John. By all accounts she's a lovely person.

[quote]Even if it was treated and I was declared to be “in remission” or whatever, I would live in constant fear that it would come back for the rest of my life.

You do.

[quote]But my husband’s always there – he’s always there to support me

Is this the husband who disappeared and was declared dead but turned up again years later hiding out on some tropical island?

r6 I'm sorry. My mother died exactly five years after her spinal cancer diagnosis. She and cancer fought each other five times, mostly in the breasts.

She was never married to that guy R16.

Dammit. We're gonna lose Burt Reynolds and Olivia Newton-John in the same year, aren't we?

Tough time to be a '70s kid.

Very sad. Always loved her. Haven't really engaged with her later music, but she's an icon, no matter what.

Olivia Newton-John was always so classy and a role model for young girls. They really do not make them like Olivia these days.

Wikipedia has just informed me that John and Olivia starred in another film together a few years after GREASE:

[quote] Travolta plays a cash-strapped inventor while Newton-John plays the bank teller whom he attempts to rob. These two unlikely individuals must come to show compassion for one another in order to delay God's judgment upon the Earth.

It has a score of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for the big five Razzies.

[quote]It has a score of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for the big five Razzies.

It was really bad but they both looked great and the soundtrack has some great Olivia songs.

“Twist of Fate” from that awful film is a great song

[quote]Dammit. We're gonna lose Burt Reynolds and Olivia Newton-John in the same year, aren't we? Tough time to be a '70s kid.

Gurl, we going to watch them drop for the next 10-20 years - one by one. This is just the start.

True. ^^^

Time to come out if the closet I guess it would pretty embarrassing at this point.

Was your link from FauxNews, OP? I understand your reluctance in posting it, but why are you giving them clicks in the first place?

[quote] Cancer scares me more than anything in the world. Even if it was treated and I was declared to be “in remission” or whatever, I would live in constant fear that it would come back for the rest of my life.

Yup. I was diagnosed in 2016 and went through 6 months of chemo. Doing fine now, but man, that other shoe dropping is never far from your thoughts.

One day at the time, R15 and R29. I wish you both well.

ONJ seems like a wonderful person. Beautiful face and beautiful music. I wish her very the best

Sad. I loved her in Grease and was one of like 5 people to see Two of a Kind.

But metastasized breast cancer is a beast. I knew she was dying when it spread to her shoulder. Sounds like she’s exhausted even clinical trials :(

I really think (hope) that drugs line Tamoxifen have changed the game in terms of breast cancer and recurrences. I don’t think ONJ had access to that when she originally battled BC.

True, r25. The Baby Boom generation are entering their Depends years, and we're going to see a lot of them go in the next 10 years.

Bye Olivia

Two of a Kind was her second movie flop in a row after Xanadu - but both soundtracks had hit songs for ONJ and the albums sold well.

R33 Tamoxifen has been around since the 1960's and received initial FDA approval to treat breast cancer in 1977.

It's been in wide-scale use since the late 1980's/early 1990's. around the time of her 1st diagnosis.

I thought I posted the link R28. It was actually to PageSix. What kind of idiot assumes because someone forgot to post a link it was a link to fox? Kindly move along with your assumptions R28.

Where’s her daughter ?

[quote]What kind of idiot assumes because someone forgot to post a link it was a link to fox?

Because Faux News links get removed by Muriel. I guess you didn't know. Shall I call you an idiot for it? Nah, I'm not an asshole.

[quote]I thought I posted the link [R28]. It was actually to PageSix. What kind of idiot assumes because someone forgot to post a link it was a link to fox? Kindly move along with your assumptions [R28].

Are you OP? No, you did not post a link.

Your bad.

OMG she better get some SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND CHEMOTHERAPY.

Not her horse shit homeopathy. We want her to SURVIVE!

R42 She's done chemotherapy. The fact that she's now "treating it naturally" means her doctors have basically told her to put her affairs in order. As somebody above said, she's exhausted all clinical trials. She's just trying to get the most out of whatever time she has left.

NOT SO FAST! She might just be okay.

This sounds bad, like R1-is-correct-bad.

Nobody ever claimed that marijuana and its derivatives cured cancer. It would be nice if that were true, but all her "natural treatment" is going to do is to make her last days more pleasant. MUCH more pleasant.

R40 Yes you are. You and R41 act as if no one has ever forgot to post a link.

Cancer has terrified me since my friend who appeared to be the picture of health was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer last year at only 31 years old. It always seems to get the best ones. Very sad to read this about ONJ.

Calm down, R46. Yes, people forget links and are called on it on DL all the time.

Post a proper link and move on. No need to call people idiots because you forgot something.

Only lazy fat whore OPs fail to provide links.

This is exactly the same thing that happened to Dusty Springfield.

Suzanne Sommers claims she was cured through natural means.

Suzanne had breast cancer and had a lumpectomy and radiation in '01 R51. In '08 she said she had inoperable breast cancer and then claimed she was misdiagnosed. She claims there are alternatives to chemotherapy, but can prove any of them work.

Suzanne Somers is fucking full of shit and always has been.

*can't prove

I am John Ritter's wife.

Did you or do you have cancer Amy?

Sounds like she only has a few months.

I've got cells. They're multiplying.

She needs religion now

So sad, she seems like such a nice lady. Her songs were corny but I secretly liked many of them, including "I Honestly Love You," and "Let's Get Physical."

I remember seeing her at her "Let's Get Physical" tour. Not the best seats, but the audience went wild. A lot of lesbians had a crush on her, especially during that time period.

The USA Today linked article says she’s getting radiation to her spine and cannabis for pain relief. That does sound like palliative care (comfort measures as opposed to actively trying to treat the disease.)

She was not a gay icon

What does the radiation do R62?

R64, I'm not r62, but I believe radiation can maybe slow down the spread of cancer.

R64 In the setting of mets to the bone radiation can shrink the tumor and thereby lessen the pain associated with it (bone mets HURT.) It’s a short term temporary measure aimed at symptomatic relief but it doesn’t stop the underlying disease.

Thanks R65.

My 3 faves growing up were Streisand, Donna Summer and ONJ. We've already lost Summer, and now Olivia is fighting for her life.

I'm scared that Barbra will be the only one left soon.

Thanks R66.

How is Valerie Harper still alive? She said her doctors gave her 3 months to live. In 2013.

Was she lying?

Having seen several people with terminal bone cancer I'm pretty certain that radiation treatment would be the last thing that I would opt for.

The side-effects are horrific and it can hasten your death by weakening your immune system when directed at the bones, particularly at the pelvis.

During her cancer R70 there have been several drugs that have come out where her cancer has responded positive to.

R71 quite certain Olivia and her family are quite aware of the potential side effects and have decided it's worth the risk to possibly extend her life.

Or people clutch at straws in the hope of ' a miracle ' and end up giving themselves a few weeks more of a miserable poor quality existence R73

I agree R74. I'm up in age and the reality of my mortality is sinking in. Until we are in the situation like Olivia's we don't know how we would react. I use to think let me go, but now I think I would fight dead.

*death

Will we get a “ONJ is dead to me” thread soon ?

I hope not R77.

Recently Billboard celebrated their 60th Anniversary. Olivia was the #6 best selling female artist of ALL TIME. When you see this list, you realize what a commercial juggernaut she was back in the day. She really had a great career- Grease alone could’ve cemented icon status for her, but she really churned out hit after hit after hit. And Xanadu, while a flop initially, has become one of the biggest cult films of all time with an insane after life. ONJ has done good.

I looked in Wikipedia and there’s no mention of it so maybe I made it up. But I recall ONJ gueststaring on a crime procedural in about the mid 70s where she played a blind singer who “witnessed” a murder but could not identify the killer. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I remember finding her lovely and it was most likely the first sustained Austrialian accent I ever heard and found it delightful. I think she sang Have You Ever Been Mellow in a recording room scence.

Derrick R80?

You’re imagining it, r80.

This is her most recent interview, filmed a few weeks ago.

Thanks R83. She looks very thin.

Why did Olivia's career go belly-up in the mid-80s? She had a huge streak of hits for years and then she was suddenly over.

As a young gayling I was walking out of the movie theatre with my dad and there was the coming soon poster of Xanadu. I knew I had to see it right then and there and I told my father exactly that. Loved her for soooooooooi long. Getting older and losing icons is just terrible. I know....MARY! But I don’t care. ONJ is my God.

It think it was because she had a child R85.

I saw that interview.

Her legs are like matchsticks. Her neck is haggard.

She has a good hairdresser, she still wears that nice asymmetric do which covers her wide face.

But it's inevitable. Reaching 70 was an achievement for her and we should get ready to mourn her passing to a better life.

This makes me tearfully sad, watching a celeb I've liked for a long time succumb to the same cancers my mom did.

That TV interview showed she picks handsome men as boyfriends.

Her latest man grows medical marijuana which she takes at night for her pain.

I know this is really mean, but that daughter of hers looks like a science experiment.

Does her pussy stink?

It seems like just yesterday that it was the summer of 1980 and I was driving around in my first car with the soundtrack to Xanadu blasting at full volume.

I miss those simpler times....

[quote] Recently Billboard celebrated their 60th Anniversary. Olivia was the #6 best selling female artist of ALL TIME.

Not to take anything away from ONJ, but that chart actually ranks singles success on the Billboard Hot 100, not sales. As much as I adore Livvie and she's my favorite female singer, she was never a huge seller. Outside of the soundtrack for Grease, none of her albums have ever gone past double platinum (and only three have). She's done decently throughout the rest of the world, but those certifications are for much fewer sales.

I'm pleasantly surprised she ranks as high as #6 for singles. I would have thought with all the bullshit streaming, all the current autotune hags would be clogging up the rest of the Top 10 under Madonna.

By now her daughter IS a science experiment. She was born with unfortunate looks and has battled eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder since she was a young girl. It can't be easy being the daughter of the fabulous ONJ.

[quote] It can't be easy being the daughter of the fabulous ONJ.

I would have LOVED it!

Olivia really should've had a gay son.

Well, she figured she was covered by having a gay husband.

Cancer runs in het family.

Approximately 8 years ago ONJ performed at the high end performing arts center in the city where I live and worked at the time. Her performance was perfect. She was scheduled to perform an encore, however, unknown to the audience she wasn’t feeling well and called it a night. She was very pleasant to deal with, very sweet and kind. She was also naturally pretty.

It sucks to grow older and have people you either loved, knew or admired and looked up to start getting sick and dying.

Not if you had my original face, R96.

I love her voice.

She will die soon. Metastatic breast cancer never ends well

Median survival rate is 3 years.

Awww this is so sad. But I knew when I read those reports a few weeks ago something was up. I’d also be pissed as f if I had eaten so healthy all those decades thinking it would help me only to battle cancer three fucking times and die at 70. For all that she could have had the cheeseburgers and pecan pie.

2 gorgeous looking people like ONJ and Matt had that unfortunate beast of a daughter? Yikes!

I already diagnosed her with cancer on here a few weeks ago. I saw her face at an event. I’m never wrong. I can always tell when someone has cancer.

She should have had a bigger career than Streisand. Her voice was amazing and unlike Streisand she had soul, even though she wasn't really a black singer or wasn't even singing RnB music.

ONJ is a wonderful pop star.

But in no sense of the word has she ever been a soul singer.

[quote]I’d also be pissed as f if I had eaten so healthy all those decades thinking it would help me only to battle cancer three fucking times and die at 70.

Especially when you consider how many of Olivia's contemporaries drank, smoked and drugged for years and are still alive and well.

R108, you're in need of therapy.

Obviously a genuinely nice person, and I enjoyed much of her music, especially after moving into dance-pop with Grease. Twist of Fate in 1984 was her last top 10, and her last great song.

The interview at r83 is heartbreaking first because its a pretty obvious adieu, second because the retrospective reminds one of so many good times in the past. Third, the woman has suffered terribly for so long. Cruel

But maybe saddest of all is the blatant bearding and lies throughout. Dear god, Cliff Richard going on about his love for her. That big closeted queen has lived with his ex priest boyfriend for years. And ONJ has always liked the ladies.

Still, genuinely sad to learn she is so very ill and has been for years.

It is obvious he does love her R113. What the fucking is wrong with you. Seek help, you are very damaged. People of the opposite sex can love one another deeply regardless if they are straight or gay.

W&W for r44. Made me lol in the midst of this sadness

[quote] Twist of Fate in 1984 was her last top 10, and her last great song.

No, 1988's The Rumor was also a great song. Should have been her comeback, but alas, the pop world had moved beyond Olivia.

DL lesbians, please take note of Livvie's tasteful lesbian chic look at 70. .

Thank you Madame Zelda at r107.

Matt Lattanzi was almost as beautiful as ONJ when they married.

She's a terrible mother

How do you know, R120?

I appreciate what ONJ has done with a flannel shirt there, r83.

"A Little More Love" is a fucking great song, BTW.

If you've never seen "The Beaver Trilogy", check it out. It's kind of a tribute to the emotional power of her music.

[quote] "I've got cells. They're multiplying. —Anonymous"

I cringed, then spewed coffee out of my nose.

I have a friend who worked at N-M back in the late 70s and did gift wrapping. Some woman was continually sending Livvie gifts with suggestive cards. Was shocked at the time that she was probably a muncher.

Olivia and BFF Karen Carpenter looking kind of dykey together.

She’ll be gone and I’ll cry

And we'll be left with Cardi B and Nikki Minaj. Life is so unfair.

So true, R129. Just today I was thinking of all the wonderful people I've known who have succumbed to cancer, often way before their time. Meanwhile, all of the most vile human beings I know are still very much alive and kicking. I just don't get it.

Its in the genes.

Back in the '80s, the lesbian rumors about Whitney and ONJ were everywhere. Of course, the Whitney rumor turned out to be true. I really do believe that ONJ was bisexual when she was younger, sort of like Anne Heche.

Lesbian rumors almost always turn out to be true, because lesbians are no-nonsense and they don't spread gay rumors just for the fun of it like gay men tend to do.

I see Olivia as a younger me.

R127 WOW. Olivia really does look like a phys ed teacher in that picture. I've never seen her look so butch.

Are you basing it just on her hair R134?

She's a lesbian.

At this point in her life she would have nothing to lose by coming out R136. As usual, according to DL, everyone is gay.

But why should she come out? She doesn't owe it to anyone to confirm or deny her sexuality. Some people feel it's no one's business and if she's not hurting anyone, who cares? ONJ has never done or said anything to make gays and lesbians feel less than, and she's brought us all a lot of happiness with her music.

I would actually have less respect for her if she did come out now. It's like saying- I've lived with this terrible secret all my life but since I'm dying, I might as well unburden myself.

I'm surprised by this thread, because news of her cancer has been out since late last year or early this year at least- yet everyone here is acting like news just broke.

In any case, I hope she gets better. There is always hope.

I don't believe she is gay R138. I also don't believe in outing celebrities. I don't believe a celebrity owes anyone an acknowledgment to a rumor about them. I don't understand why people get off starting a rumor, as if being gay is a bad thing. People have way too much time on their hands speculating who is gay and who isn't. Again, according to DL, there are more gay people than straight.

R139 Because it has hit the MSM, especially with the recent interview she did.

[quote] I'm surprised by this thread, because news of her cancer has been out since late last year or early this year at least- yet everyone here is acting like news just broke.

I agree. I remember when the news broke last year because I had gone through cancer and chemo in 2016 (different kind) and I got very upset that it had come back for Olivia, first because I adore her, but second, as a cancer patient, the last thing you want to hear is that it reoccured in someone all those years later. It's basically telling you that you can never relax and think it's over.

But it was all over the wire this week, and they're saying it's in her sacrum now, nd was in her shoulder before. But I could swear it was in her sacrum last year. So I'm confused, as well.

r136- As for the lesbian rumors about her, what is the basis of them exactly? I've seen no indication of it by watching her- not from things she said, did, her style, or the people she hangs with. So, where are these rumors coming from?

They say the same about Helen Reddy too, which I find bizarre.

There's a fantastic interview with Sandahl Bergman (not using her name, but we know it's her) talking about working on Xanadu and having an affair with ONJ in the book Sing Out.

Well, that kind of explains it, I guess. Thanks, r143.

And just as an aside, do you know what the basis of the Helen Reddy lesbian rumors might be? I remember looking into it a little, and coming up empty on that too.

One of the comments to the book Sing Out said it was obvious one of the anonymous interviews was ONJ and the other was Helen Reddy.

People can read into whatever they want. A lot of people like to bring someone down to build themselves up.

What is this about her being a lesbian?

Don't you know R147, on DL we have to get someone's sexuality out of the way before we can talk about anything else about them.

[quote] And just as an aside, do you know what the basis of the Helen Reddy lesbian rumors might be? I remember looking into it a little, and coming up empty on that too.

That's right, as the poster upthread said, there was another "anonymous" interview that a lot of people intuited as being about Helen Reddy. I've read the book a couple of times, and I don't know as much about Helen as I do ONJ, so I can't say for sure, but the Sandahl Bergman interview- it was crystal clear that she was talking about ONJ, Xanadu and Matt Lattanzi.

Oh, so claiming someone is gay is dragging them down? Fuck you. Too many fraud on here.

If you've heard a rumor that a female celebrity is gay or bi, then there's a 90% chance that it's true. The only lesbian rumor that hasn't been totally proven is Oprah.

Fuck off R150. You lack reading comprehension skills, besides being an ass.

My sister attended Mills College. One year I was picking her up to drive us both home for Xmas break. In the lobby of her dorm where I waited for her an attractive woman was picking a package up at the desk

My sister arrived, introduced me to the woman and we left. In the car she told me the attractive woman was having an affair with ONJ and the package was from ONJ This was in the 80s so even I, a guy, knew about ONJ years ago

She is straight, and I'm the dame that can prove it!

in PTown a lesbian recounted a Johnny Carson broadcast where ONJ when asked if she had a partner, said "Yes, and she's here in the audience. Could you please stand up?" and the cameraman panned to her in the audience and she appeared on camera smiling. I almost believed her but no, not really.

[quote] in PTown a lesbian recounted a Johnny Carson broadcast where ONJ when asked if she had a partner, said "Yes, and she's here in the audience. Could you please stand up?" and the cameraman panned to her in the audience and she appeared on camera smiling. I almost believed her but no, not really.

There's a tiny kernel of truth in that story. ONJ was on Carson in the 70s and she was referring to her "girlfriend" Karen Carpenter, but not meaning it in the romantic way. Johnny had a little fun with it, and Livvy was totally unaware of the joke. That's probably where the rumors started. FWIW, I believe she's a lesbian, or at least bisexual, but I also believe it's no one's business if she doesn't wish to discuss it. We can gossip about it all we like, but again, she owes us nothing.

What is the Sandahl Bergman story?

They had an affair during the shooting of Xanadu. Sandahl wanted more, but when ONJ set her sights on Lattanzi as a beard, things cooled between her and Sandahl.

Sorry, Queens, she is NOT lez.

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Sing out? Someone is placing credence in Boze Hadleigh? Does anyone really believe ONJ or Helen Reddy would do interviews like that under any circumstances. People who were quoted in his books dispute ever having spoken to him so he came up with the novel concept of claiming the subjects were anonymous.

Like I posted upthread, she was getting gifts back in the day from a woman. One was a set of small gold-plated dumbbells with a love note.

Nobody quoted disputed anything. They were all dead.

Hadley's Wikipedia entry has an entire bit on "Dubious Claims".

An entire bit of three citations. Wow!

I do remember when I read Broadway Babylon, that Madeline Kahn thing stood out like a sore thumb and pissed me off. I've read his "famous quotes" books and I found that all of them had several dubious sounding quotes. I have a feeling those books (or the part of the more studied books) are more bullshit than anything because they titillate (and sell better). But the long interviews don't seem salacious or gossipy. yes, all those people are dead, so we'll never know, but if you're citing Rock's ex as the person who denied Rock ever talked to Boze, then that's about as reliable as the things you're protesting.

Don't you love ex partners who claim to know everything about them?

If Olivia couldn't convince John to be straight then or now, what sort of missage should I tweet?

She wanted Miss Travolta as the ideal beard.

Kudos to r140 / r137 for calling out the "every famous person is gay" delusionalists.

And I even believe that Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Taylor Lautner are gay, despite the heterosexist fangirls on DL who won't believe their heartthrobs could be different from their own orientation, too.

I watched that interview and it's sad to see her looking so thin and ravaged. It does irk me slightly that she kep her second diagnosis under wraps. She spends a lot of time promoting herself as a "cancer thriver" when that's clearly not the case. If you are going to hold yourself up as a spokeswomen for cancer then transparency isn't an option - its' an obligation.

How is it not the case? 1992 to 2013 is a big stretch of time.

Didn't she marry a young hustler or chorus boy, or something?

It occurred to me the other day that almost all the people whom I love, admire and enjoy are DEAD. It was freaky. And now Olivia, whom my (dead) gay brother had a massive crush on, is on her way out. Ben and Jerry's Brownie Batter may be in order just to DEAL with it all.

Olivia, don’t die on me!

R172 She married a cutey and divorced him when he went bald

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Sing it with me girls one last time

'It's gotta be a strange twist of fate

Telling me that HEAVEN can't wait

Telling me it's TOO LATE this time

LIFE DOESN'T MEAN A THING

OLJ tells haters like Radar Online to bugger off in New Year's message.