Two weeks ago, Olivia Newton-John postponed the first half of her U.S. and Canadian tour due to severe back pain. The ailment was originally attributed to sciatica, but today the 68-year-old singer released a statement that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer and it has metastasized to her back.
According to Newton-John's statement, which was posted to her official Facebook page, she will be treated with natural wellness therapies and a “short course of photon radiation therapy."
“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,” Newton-John says in the statement.
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Based on today's statement, the prognosis seems positive. “[Newton-John] is confident she will be back later in the year, better than ever, to celebrate her shows," it reads.
“She plans to be touring in August. They’re all very positive,” a source close to the singer and her family told PEOPLE on Tuesday.
A rep for Newton-John previously told the outlet that she's “resting and going through treatment.”
Newton-John had been touring to promote her inspirational album LIV ON, which features a collection of songs about overcoming trauma and hardship. Songs on the album delve into her previous battle with breast cancer in 1992, and her sister Rona's death from brain cancer in 2013.
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