“Grease” actress and singer Olivia Newton-John , is committed to keeping raising awareness and funding the advancement of cancer research after Kelly Preston, John Travolta’s wife, passed away from the disease. The 72-year-old star was first diagnosed with the disease in 1992 and understands the anguish and pain. “John is my friend, and he chooses to be private about this, but he’s doing as well as anyone can be after losing their wife,” Newton-John told Fox News. “Kelly, she was the most wonderful, beautiful, radiant mother and woman, and losing her is incredibly sad.”
Preston died at age 57 after privately battling breast cancer for two-years. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side,” Travolta wrote on Instagram. “Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don’t hear from us for a while. But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal.”
© GettyImagesFor Newton-John, her friend’s passing fueled her passion for positively impacting. Through the Olivia Newton-John Foundation, she would be doing everything in her power to fight against cancer. “It really strengthens my resolve to do what I‘m doing so I can find other ways to treat cancer,” Newton-John said. “We all want to see an end to it. So that’s going to keep me going.”
According to Fox News, from November 9 to November 30, Newton-John will be using her charity to auction over 300 items, including Zoom chats with fans, memorabilia, awards, artwork, and more. “That’s my dream. That’s my goal – to find different kinds of therapy for cancer and to see if we can get to a point where we can control cancer and live with it, like diabetes and other conditions,” Newton-John said. The star also said she is very conscious of what people put in their bodies. “Immunotherapy is showing some promise, but ultimately we want to find treatments that don’t poison the body,” she added.
The actress revealed that she is excited and looking forward to the video calls and remembered that one time a fan bid on her “Grease” jacket, and after winning, it decided to give it back to her. “That was the most generous, wonderful thing,” she said. “He didn’t have to do that.”
During an interview with the Australian television program Sunday Night, the actress opened up about her disease. “I thought, ‘it’s my life,’ and I just decided to keep it to myself,” the actress said, adding that the cancer is metastatic and has spread to her spine. “I believe I will win over it, and that’s my goal.”
