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SALUTE
A SURVIVOR STORY
Breast cancer does not discriminate—just ask mother, actress and singer Olivia NewtonJohn. Here, she shares her story of facing fear and winning.
few years later, a third girlfriend got it—three women from my immediate group—all in their 40s. A housewife, a flight attendant and me. Unbelievable.
Q: Did you ever think about breast cancer before your own diagnosis in 1992?
Q: Did your friend’s diagnosis motivate you to conduct selfexams?
A: A dear friend of mine was diagnosed only three months before I was, and our little circle immediately said, “Oh my God! She’s got cancer!” There’s something about the word itself that’s so scary. So when I got it, I had to come to the realization— and it took awhile—that cancer isn’t necessarily a death sentence. Millions of women go through it and then lead productive, healthy lives. But at the time it felt overwhelming.
A: I’ve always had regular exams, because I’ve had a few [benign] lumps before—you know, cysts— so I went periodically to my surgeon for check-ups. But this particular time, I didn’t feel right—I just knew something was wrong. I had a small lump and it hurt. The mammogram came back negative, but my doctor was persistent—we both had a feeling. We did the biopsy and I found out that I had breast cancer, the same weekend my father died.
Q: So, you and your friend were facing it together.
Q: How did you possibly handle that?
A: Yes. She’d had surgery and was already going through chemo when I was diagnosed. Then, a
A: I think we compartmentalize things, deal with what we have to. I had so little time to mourn. I went
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through the surgery, then started chemo— Q: Immediately? A: Pretty much. I was comfortable with my care—which is so important—and I trusted my oncologist. When you’re first diagnosed, people are pulling you in every direction: Do this! Do that! You really have to gather yourself, because you’re the one who has to make the hard choices. I researched a lot and felt satisfied with my course of treatment. It was sort of an East-meets-West approach. Q: You mean the spiritual as well as the physical? A: Yes, both. I meditated every day, did yoga, used homeopathy, ate well—I boosted my inner strength as much as I could. When bad thoughts came in, I pushed them right out. I had what’s called a modified radical mastectomy with reconstruction done to my breast immediately—a woman can
