Olivia Newton-John's incredible act before her death

Olivia Newton-John sold off much of her real estate portfolio in 2019, a year after being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, in order to help fund more research into the disease.

The Grease star passed away this week at the age of 73 following a decades-long cancer battle.

Sources close to the star told The New York Post that Olivia wanted her estate to help those who need it the most.

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"Olivia loved helping people. She spent the last two decades of her life giving back," a source said. "She wanted to leave behind something that would last, and something that her daughter, too, could benefit from."

Olivia was known for advocating for cancer awareness and financed medical research through her Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund. She also created the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, which is a public hospital that specialises in supporting patients' mental health as well as clinical care.

While she sold much of her portfolio, including a $4.6 million home in Dalwood, Australia, she kept the Californian ranch that she initially listed for sale, choosing to instead transfer ownership to her husband John Easterling. It was here that she lived her final days.

"She was in a lot of pain, but she was a fighter," the source explained. "The place was her heaven on Earth and it gave her many calming moments in her final days."

Speaking of the Olivia Newton-John Foundation in 2020, Olivia told Forbes, "The idea is to fund research into kinder ways to treat cancer, to prevent cancer, and to live well with cancer."

"So, all those things, I believe, we will eventually see a world beyond it where it’s just treated as any other illness that you can kind of control and live well with and, of course, hopefully cure it. Living well is something that I do, and I’m hoping that I can help others do that."

Olivia was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, then again in 2013, and her last diagnosis came in 2017.

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