Olivia Newton-John talks beating cancer twice, promising she’ll “do it again”

FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2016 file photo, actress and singer Olivia Newton-John attends the premiere of HBO's "Divorce" in New York. Newton-John says she has breast cancer and is canceling her June tour. The 68-year-old singer announced Tuesday, May 30, 2017, that she initially thought she was suffering from back pain, but learned it was “breast cancer that has metastasized to the sacrum.” (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)

Olivia Newton-John spoke about her renewed battle with breast cancer during a new interview with “TODAY,” insisting she’s a “thriver,” not a “survivor.”

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“A survivor sounds like someone clinging onto a lifeboat, to me. A thriver is someone that’s already off the boat and on land,” she explained.

In May, Newton-John discovered the breast cancer she had beaten 25 years ago had returned and spread to her lower back, forcing her to postpone her North American tour. Prior to the diagnosis, she thought the pain she was experiencing was sciatica.

RELATED: Olivia Newton-John reveals the unconventional way she dealt with her cancer battle

“It was painful to walk, so I thought that it was that. I was still performing. I would kind of a grit my teeth and take a couple of aspirin and go on,” she recalled finding out she actually had cancer again. “I guess I was sort of surprised, and I never would have associated because, in my mind, it was over. I had finished with it.”

The actress and singer is using a variety and traditional treatments and natural remedies, including medical cannabis, to fight the disease and to help with her pain. Through it all, she’s maintaining a positive outlook and promised, “I’m not going to be one of those statistics. I’m going to be fine. And I will probably deal with this in my life as an ongoing thing … You know, I got through this before and I can do it again.”

RELATED: In the midst of her cancer battle, Olivia Newton-John surprises fans by resuming her tour

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