Olivia Newton-John shared a night of emotion and song last month in The Sharon.On Tuesday, the beloved Australian singer said her cancer has returned.
Newton-John, 68, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, announced she is “reluctantly” postponing her June concert dates. She stated on Facebook the back pain she suffered in recent weeks was caused by breast cancer that metastasized to her sacrum. That is the bone in her lower back between her hip bones.
“I decided on my direction of therapies after consultation with my doctors and natural therapists and the medical team at my Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia,” she stated.
John said her treatment will include a short course of photon radiation in addition to “natural wellness therapies,” USA Today reported. Newton-John said she is “confident she will be back later in the year, better than ever, to celebrate her shows.”
That remarkable performance in The Villages seems like another time.
On that night, Newton-John was bubbling with energy and music. She sang everything from a “Grease” medley to “I Honestly Love You.” Her longtime fans here, were deeply moved by the performance.
“One of the best shows I’ve seen in a while,” Debbie Murphy wrote to Villages-News.com. “Olivia Newton-John was fabulous. She could still every high note and then some.”
“Olivia Newton John is still a beautiful woman with a fantastic vocal range and terrific charisma,” Diana Arlt said.
In The Sharon, Newton-John saved the best for last. After nearly 75 minutes of singing her hits, she created a different atmosphere for her encore.
Newton-John stood near the side of the stage, wearing a stunning, black gown. She was accompanied only by her music director and pianist Dane Bryant.
Before singing, she spoke to the sold out audience.
“My daughter (singer/actress Chloe Lattanzi) grew up loving this song,” Newton-John said. “This song has always meant so much to me. I wanted to share it.”
Then she sang “Over the Rainbow.”
Newton-John infused the old Harold Arlen standard with new life. The song, as it was for Judy Garland and America near the start of World War II, seemed to offer faith, resolve and hope for a better future.
It’s a song about conquering fear and going back to what gave us our strength.
“I’m grateful for so many things in my life,” Newton-John said earlier in the concert. “One of the things I’m grateful for is that I can still sing, and that you still want to come out to see me.”
Now, once more, she is facing the challenge of cancer.
“Everybody has challenges,” Newton-John said that night in The Sharon. “My biggest challenge was breast cancer in 1992. I had a rough time and I returned to live on my farm in Australia.
“One night, I had a terrible anxiety attack. I woke up in the middle of the night and I got out of bed and sat at my little electric piano. I wrote a song that summed up how I felt about beating cancer or anything else.”
The song is “Not Gonna Give Into It,” and it has become a cancer-survivor’s anthem, with the lyric, “In the end, it’s all up to me.”
Now, once again, it’s up to Newton-John. But, in this battle, she is not alone. Her fans, as they did that night in The Villages, stand by her.
