Hopefully devoted to the cause

Jacqui Brown

Olivia Newton-John is a real-life survivor.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in July of 1992, the singer and

actress turned what could have been a tragedy into a lifelong

commitment to raising awareness about this increasingly devastating

disease and its prevention.

“I’m always surprised when women say to me they don’t self-examine

their breasts because they’re scared they’ll find something,”

Newton-John said. “It’s much better to know, because the earlier you

detect something, the earlier you can treat it.”

On Thursday, Newton-John, along with noted breast cancer surgeon

Dr. Ernie Bodai, who runs a breast cancer center in Northern

California, was at Sav-On Drugs in Burbank to announce that the

Breast Cancer Stamp will now be available at Sav-On and Albertsons

grocery stores throughout California.

“After several years of lobbying to get this stamp passed by

Congress, it has become the highest-selling stamp ever sold by the

post office,” Bodai said. “We’ve sold over 600 million stamps and

we’ve raised about $50 million toward breast cancer research.”

With so much more money needed to fund research, Newton-John said

she is thrilled that the stamps will be conveniently available at

both these markets rather than having to make a special trip to the

post office.

Karen Ramos, a Sav-On Drugs spokeswoman, said the chain started

selling the stamps Oct. 1, and they’ve been selling fast.

“They have an additional cost, but the extra $1.60 goes toward funding breast cancer research,” Ramos said. “Sav-On and Albertsons

have always supported fundraising throughout the U.S., so this is

just a great way to continue that support.”

The Liv-kit, named after Newton-John, was also demonstrated to men

and women. The kit contains a reusable, soft, latex-free polyurethane

bag filled with a non-toxic lubricant that allows fingers to glide

smoothly across the breast, enhancing the ability to feel changes in

the breast.

“This enables women to have a more user-friendly way in which to

examine their breast,” Newton-John said. “Some women are embarrassed

to touch themselves and this tool will eliminate some of that

embarrassment.”

Newton-John and Bodai are on a global crusade to intro- duce the

stamp worldwide.

“Breast cancer knows no boundaries,” Bodai said. “So we’re

traveling the world to bring stamps and a cure to all countries in

the world.”