Famous Cancer Survivors
Their Stories of Hope as Survivors

Famous cancer survivors include a world-class athlete, a famous actress and best-selling author and Grammy Awards winner. They are famous celebrities. As survivors, they bravely fought the odds and conquered the disease. Read about these famous survivors and be inspired by their courageous spirits. If you're battling cancer of the colon right now, be encouraged with the story of victory of one its survivors.

photo courtesy of Dave Seow

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, a four-time Grammy awardee and the famous star of "Grease" -- the most successful movie musical of all time -- is one of the famous cancer survivors. A malignant tumor in her breast was found in 1992 after a self-breast exam. As one of the survivors of the disease, she believes that early detection is an important step for its prevention. Thus, she encourages women to perform self-breast exam.

Related Article: Breast Cancer Facts You Need to Know

She founded the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre and Wellness Centre (ONJCWC) in Melbourne, Australia which offers treatments, research and overall wellness of a person. She is married to the famous John Easterling, the owner of Amazon Herb company.

In an excerpt from her interview with the Coping with Cancer magazine, she said “As one of the long-term survivors of the disease, I have learned how important it is to take care of both my physical and emotional health. In my recovery, I became even more aware of the power of music. It can heal the body, calm the mind, and lift the spirit; but above all, it can connect us to our hearts.”

In fact, listening to meditation music is now one of the steps in supportive care for breast tumor patients and to prevent the disease. In case, you're interested and you want to try meditation music yourself, I found a good resource where you can download beautiful meditation music to help de-stress you. You can also give it as a gift to a loved one. Check out:

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photo courtesy of Flowski

LANCE ARMSTRONG, a famous world-class cyclist, was diagnosed with an aggressive type of testicular tumor in 1996. This type of tumor is common among men between the ages of 15 to 35. He is one of the famous cancer survivors of this aggressive disease.

The tumor already spread to his lungs, brain and abdomen when it was found out. Treatment required him to undergo chemotherapy and surgeries to remove his cancerous testicle and cancerous lesions in the brain as well.

During his recovery, he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), which today gives millions of dollars for research about the disease and different LIVESTRONG programs for those suffering from the disease. He pushed really hard for Proposition 15 to establish Cancer Prevention and Research Institute.

The famous athlete has been through trials even when he was already one of the survivors of the disease. He was investigated for drug use following accusations from Floyd Landis. He announced his retirement 3 times which he backtracked from. In February 2011, he announced again his retirement but this time he promised that it is already for good.

photo courtesy of cuda00002

SHARON OSBOURNE, the famous Reality TV star was 49 years old when she became part of the list of celebrities who are survivors of the disease. She was diagnosed with stage 3C tumor in her colon which already spread to her lymph nodes last July 2002. She was given a prognosis of 33% survival. She had chemotherapy for 8 months and was considered as one of the famous cancer survivors in 2003.

In 2004, she put up the Cedars Sinai Hospital's Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program in her desire to help those suffering with this tumor pay for clinical care, at-home services, childcare, transportation and access to support groups and patient care services. Later in the year, she admitted that she was suffering from bulimia.

In her interview with Lifescript.com last June 2010, she said her experience as one of the survivors of the big C "makes you more grounded. We take ourselves so seriously and we’re blessed to be doing what we do. But really, in the big picture, it’s a bit of a joke. It’s not what’s important in life."

What is the major risk factor for colorectal tumors? The kind of food you eat is. Changing your diet is a smart move towards prevention. Or you can add something healthy such as flax seeds to your meals.

Related Article: How Alkaline Foods Work Against Tumor Development

Do you know . . . Prevention against colorectal polyps and other symptoms of cancer is one of the health benefits of flax seeds. Just add ground flaxseeds to your dishes!

photo courtesy of cq.swat

FRAN DRESCHER is a famous Jewish actress-comedienne and the author of the bestseller, Cancer Schmancer. She was diagnosed with ovarian tumor in 2000. According to her, it took 2 years and 8 doctors before she got the correct diagnosis. In fact, her symptoms were misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or IBS.

Her doctor prescribed immediate radical hysterectomy as treatment. She recovered successfully and is now one of the famous survivors of the disease. Just like the other survivors, she wanted to share her experience. She wrote her book with the intention to help people "to become more aware of the early warning signs of cancer, and to empower themselves."

photo courtesy of Shanghaiist

KYLIE MINOGUE, 2004 Grammy Awards winner and a famous Australian pop star is one of the survivors of the invasive breast cancer type. She was diagnosed last 2005 at the age of 36. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy after surgery. She described the chemo treatment she had as "experiencing a nuclear bomb". She hurdled the battle with the disease and belongs to the roster of famous cancer survivors since 2006.

Three years after her diagnosis, she revealed in the famous Ellen Degeneres show that her tumor was misdiagnosed at first. Her diagnosis at such a young age and being one of the famous survivors of the invasive type of breast tumor had an impact on how young women regard the disease.

photo courtesy of frank reid

ROD STEWART is a music superstar and one of the famous best selling artists of all time. He was diagnosed of having a malignant tumor in his thyroid in 2000 at the age of 58. Because he is a famous singer, losing his voice to the disease was his worst nightmare. He underwent surgery and after recovering from the operation, he had to learn how to sing again.

As one of the survivors of the disease, he decided to give back. He is currently and passionately involved with The City of Hope Foundation, which works to find a cure for all types of tumor especially those that affect children such as ALL leukemia.

Last updated on 8 March 2011