For a lot of cancer survivors, quarantine has been hard, but creativity can be an amazing outlet. Grammy-winning pop singer Kylie Minogue, 52, was only 36 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Now, with 14 albums under her belt, the Aussie-British singer behind the catchy disco-pop song “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” told GQ that during quarantine, she been working on an upcoming album full of “grown-up disco. [It’s] difficult even for me to explain. But even grown-ups need some pure pop fun.”
Read MoreA Life On Hold
Her career was taking off when her breast cancer diagnosis forced her to canceled her 2005 appearance at the Glastonbury Festival — the largest in Europe — to undergo treatment. Instead of headlining the legendary festival, she watched it on TV from Australia with her mom, Carol, and dad, Ron, during her eight-month cycle of chemotherapy and radiation.
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At the time, she felt her life was “on hold.” But family and friends saw her through it: “People shone so bright for me in those dark days. The strength my family showed was extraordinary. The love, support and the kindness of strangers! I was so very aware of, and grateful for, all that had gone before me.”
The star admits that at the time, “I tried to be positive, but I was also realistic with the need to allow some space for all of the other difficult feelings and emotions.”
Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, discusses breast cancer in younger women.
She sums up her experience with cancer in a mix of emotion: “The research, the trials, the heartbreak, the loss, the progress, the love and the hope,” finally concluding that, “my view of the world was different,” Kylie revealed. “My destination, for the most part, was the same.”
“The Kylie Effect”
After she went public with her diagnosis Minogue said, her story prompted women to get mammograms. "I have people tell me to my face, 'Well I went to get checked and I'm now five years cancer-free," she says about the "Kylie Effect."
"Everyone's story is different, but it's a good feeling to know that you've raised awareness and helped people."
On the difficulty of cancer and treatment, Minogue said, "The lows, you hate them, but it is character building," she says. "I kind of hate saying that, but it's true."
Lasting Effect of Cancer Treatment: Infertility
But breast cancer treatment is not without its lasting effects, and for Minogue, according to the British Sunday Express, that included losing the ability to have children.
Dr. Jamie Knopman on egg donors after chemotherapy
"I don't want to dwell on it, obviously, but I wonder what would have been like," Minogue told the London Sunday Times Style magazine about the opportunity to have children.
Minogue is currently in a relationship, happy, and in love. "I can't say there are no regrets, but it would be very hard for me to move on if I classed that as a regret," the star continued.
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"So I just have to be as philosophical about it as I can. You've got to accept where you are and get on with it."
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