Olivia Newton-John, the British-born and Australian-raised singer and actress, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. Since then, the four-time Grammy winner and actress, has been a tireless advocate for health awareness and efforts to eradicate breast cancer.
Sadly, Newton-John received her diagnosis the same week that her father passed away. After her recovery, she became a product spokesperson for Liv-Kit, a breast self-examination product.
In 2005, she released the record Stonger Than Before which was sold exclusively through Hallmark and whose proceeds from sales benefited breast cancer research. The album featured the song "Phenomenal Woman" based on the poem by Maya Angelou that featured guest vocals from Diahann Carroll, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Delta Goodrem, Amy Holland, Patti LaBelle, and Mindy Smith who were all cancer survivors or whose lives were affected by the disease.
The follow year, Newton-John released a healing CD, Grace and Gratitude. Sales from the album benefited various charities such as the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization.
In 2008, Newton-John raised funds to help build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne, Australia. She led a three-week, 228 km walk along the Great Wall of China that April and was joined by various celebrities and cancer survivors along the trek. The walk (http://www.greatwalkto beijing.com) symbolized the steps cancer patients must take on their road to recovery. Newton-John released a companion CD, A Celebration in Song, the following month in Australia and later worldwide featuring new and previously recorded duets with Barry Gibb, Richard Marx, Cliff Richard, Keith Urban, among others. The walk ultimately raised over $2,000,000.
In October 2008, Newton-John helped launch www.liv.com website and teamed with fitness franchise Curves to distribute one million Liv-Aid breast self-examination aids for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Now there's a survivor who gives back with her time, money, and talent!
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