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AAP
AAP
Lifestyle
Farid Farid

Get physical: final steps for Newton-John's legacy

Family, friends and supporters of Olivia Newton-John joined the final Walk for Wellness on Sunday. (Michael Currie/AAP PHOTOS)

Thousands of walkers and runners have turned out in their fluoro leg warmers and headbands to raise funds to help people battling cancer.

Inspired by Olivia-Newton John's hit song Let's Get Physical, Walk for Wellness has been the signature event for the late singer's cancer centre for more than a decade.

It has continued since her death due to breast cancer in 2022, aged 73, but it was held for the last time on Sunday as the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre shifts to year-round fundraising efforts.

walk
Even the dogs got in on the act for Olivia's Walk for Wellness in Melbourne. (Michael Currie/AAP PHOTOS)

The Australian diva, who shot to international fame with her role in the hit musical film Grease, was diagnosed with the disease in 1992 and it recurred twice before her passing.

She established the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in 2012.

The singer's daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, said the final walk, held at Melbourne's Victoria Gardens, heralded the start of a new chapter.

"Seeing more than 3500 people here today, walking together for my mum and everything she believed in is incredibly special," she said on Sunday.

Olivia
Funds raised through the walk support free services including psychology and exercise physiology. (Con Chronis/AAP PHOTOS)

"Mum knew that cancer care was about treating the whole person, not just the cancer and I'm so proud that her vision continues to help families every single day."

The centre said a goal of raising $1.2 million was within its sights and encouraged the public to dig deep until the end of October.

Funds raised through the walk have supported free services including psychology, exercise physiology, acupuncture, massage and creative therapies that sit alongside medical treatment.

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