Delta Goodrem: Born to Try
Nineteen-year-old pop sensation and soap star Delta Goodrem began a much-heralded battle of her life a few months ago. Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, a form of cancer that attacks the lymph glands, Delta has withdrawn from her busy schedule. She spent time with family and close friends, and used the opportunity to gather her thoughts and prepare for a course of intensive radio- and chemotherapy. The “C” diagnosis sent her high-flying world into a tailspin.
Recently she briefly returned to the limelight at the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards ceremony, staged in Sydney, where she scooped Aria upon Aria. She collected seven awards—more than any previous artist—including best female artist for the album “Innocent Eyes” and single of the year for “Born to Try.”
“Innocent Eyes” was heralded as the biggest music product in Australia for 2003. Selling 420,000 copies and clinging to the top spot on the local album chart for an amazing 17 weeks—and counting. Interestingly, the song is co-written by Delta and dedicated to her family, with whom she is very close.
The singer-songwriter and actor, appearing on Channel 10’s nightly Neighbours, has broken yet another record in Australia. She has become the first ever Australian or international act to have four number-one singles from a debut album.
“How good is it to be here?” she yelled from the stage. “I can’t wait to get back into it,” she said later, “but I have to focus on my health.”
Too ill to perform her song, “Lost Without You,” it was sung by Savage Garden’s Darren Hayes—flown in specially from the United States—and it reduced an already emotional Delta to tears.
“I thought I was really composed,” she said, “but as soon as he sang I lost it.”
She told a cheering crowd during her acceptance of one of her awards that she was thankful for all the “beautiful people out there” who had sent her letters and well-wishes. And she invited the Australian public to visit her house and see them if they doubted there were “wonderful people out there.”
On another occasion, just after the discovery of Hodgkin’s disease, she also thanked her fans, her record company and the media for their support: “I’m feeling really positive. I’ve started treatment and will be having chemotherapy and radiotherapy for the next four to five months,” she said. “There will be good days and bad days, but on the good days, I’ll do what I love to do . . .”
Very early, Delta expressed how important it was for her to remain positive in the crisis. It’s a vital component of learning how to cope with the overwhelming revelation that she has cancer. Her own admission in a recent interview with the Herald Sun expressed the reality of good and bad days and ups and downs as being ever present. Upon learning she had cancer, she described her emotional state as a “complete mess.”
Medical professionals who constantly deal with, counsel and treat victims of cancer say many cancer patients share such feelings. Even though Hodgkin’s is considered one of the modern success stories in cancer treatment because many are cured, this doesn’t prevent sufferers from feeling overwhelmed when informed of their diagnosis.
According to Cancer: The Facts (by Michael Whitehouse and Maurice Slevin), different emotions can arise in cancer patients, causing confusion and frequent mood changes. Reactions differ from one person to another and there is no right or wrong way to feel. The emotions are part of the process many people go through in coming to terms with their illness. Interestingly, partners, family members and friends often experience similar feelings, frequently needing as much support coping as the cancer sufferer does.
Beautiful, young and musically gifted, achieving so much in such a short period of time, Delta certainly comes across as being “born to win.” Charming with a brave smile and a pleasant attitude, she publicly promotes a similar mission in life. She acknowledges she has much to live for and isn’t about to give in.
“I want to get on with it because there is still so much to I want to do and enjoy,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Discovering you’re living with cancer is heartbreaking enough; however, it would be true to say that if Delta had been not so physically attractive, less talented and older, she probably wouldn’t have made news headlines and top billing on current-affairs shows. To her family, though, she is and will continue to remain top billing, and her plight spells real-life human tragedy and not a soap opera to be dismissed as sensationalistic fodder for the masses.
I was in Brisbane visiting my parents when I heard of Delta’s diagnosis. The news hit hard because my father had been diagnosed with lymphoma earlier that week. I was saddened by the news and felt genuine empathy, given our family experience. Her celebrity status was immaterial at that point, because I viewed her through the eyes of someone who was able to share her pain. She became another person who, unfortunately, has to fight the same battle as my dear dad.
It’s a shame, but since then I’ve heard comments ranging from those sympathetic to Delta’s plight (the majority) to “So what?” Because of so much media attention to Delta, the less sympathetic brush the topic aside: “She’s no different to anyone else, so why pay her any greater attention?”
They have a point, although their conclusion may be faulty. Certainly Delta is no different to any other cancer patient: she has bad feelings, bad days and negative emotions like any other person; she has a network of family and friends who love her and care about her, and who also desperately want her to get well. We do need to remind ourselves that as humans we have a tendency to discriminate; cancer doesn’t.
But her experience is tragic enough without people minimising her ordeal. Delta Goodrem is first of all a cancer sufferer and not only a singing, pretty face on Ramsay Street. My dad’s no celebrity, but in the eyes of his family, he’s handsome, sings like a bird and lives in a street that’s nicer than Ramsay. He’s our superstar and definitely a somebody.
The disease
Hodgkin’s disease is a cancer of the lymphatic system. It’s also known as a lymphom, of which there are two main types—Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. Hodgkin's disease, like other cancers, is a disease of the body’s cells. Cells in different parts of the body work in different ways, but all repair and reproduce themselves in the same way. Normally, this division of cells takes place in an orderly and controlled manner, but if this process goes out of control, the cells continue to divide, developing into a lump or tumour.
Lymphoma cells generally grow in lymph nodes (also called glands) that are part of the lymphatic system. Sometimes the lymphoma cells spread from the original site to affect other lymph nodes and may occasionally enter the bloodstream, which carries them to various organs. Usually, however, Hodgkin's disease involves groups of neighbouring lymph nodes. A doctor makes a diagnosis by conducting a biopsy—the removal of a lymph node or part of it for laboratory examination.
The treatment of Hodgkin’s disease, even when it has spread to different areas, is usually successful. Most people can now be cured or the disease controlled for many years. Advice as to the best treatment can only be sought from a doctor familiar with an individual’s medical history.
For most of us, cancer is a frightening word surrounded by fears and myths. One of the first fears expressed by almost all newly diagnosed cancer patients is “Am I going to die?”—something best discussed with the doctor.
Delta isn’t afraid to admit her fears and hopes, and openly banks on her optimism as a primary element in the curative process. Many people, young like Delta, and older, must live with cancer, grapple with the realities of life (and death) and fight to maintain optimism and inner peace as they learn to cope.
Delta Goodrem’s cancer revelation is just one example of heartbreak in the bigger scheme of things. Her story is sad not because she’s young, beautiful and talented, but because she is a significant and precious individual in the eyes of all who love her. Delta Goodrem is a cancer sufferer. Celebrity status or not, we want her to win the war—not just the battle—and become Delta Goodrem, cancer survivor.
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Articles of interest:
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This is an extract from December 2003
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