Australian pop sensation Kylie Minogue revealed she faced a second cancer diagnosis in 2021 after first battling breast cancer in 2005.
The famous singer, 57, opened up about her health battle in her Netflix documentary, titled “Kylie,” released Wednesday, according to the BBC. She’s known for songs such as “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” and “Confide In Me.”
“My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself,” Minogue said. “Not like the first time.”
She addressed her decision to keep her second cancer scare away from the public. “I don’t feel obliged to tell the world, and actually I just couldn’t at the time because I was just a shell of a person,” Minogue said.
The famous singer told fans she struggled “to find the right time” to share what she had dealt with, and weighed the decision heavily after seeing huge success with the release of her Grammy-winning 2023 single, “Padam Padam,” according to the BBC.
“I didn’t want to leave the house again at one point,” Minogue said in the documentary. “Padam Padam opened so many doors for me but on the inside I knew that cancer wasn’t just a blip in my life.”
Minogue admitted, “And I really just wanted to say what happened so I can let go of it. I’d sit through interviews and every opportunity I thought, ‘now’s the time’, but I kept it to myself.”
Minogue was able to successfully and quietly beat cancer for a second time, and credited her love for music as a source of strength.
“Thankfully, I got through it, again, and all is well,” she said, according to the BBC. “Hey, who knows what’s around the corner, but pop music nurtures me… my passion for music is greater than ever.”
Minogue was one of the few female stars of her era to come forward with a public cancer diagnosis, and was widely credited for inspiring women across the world to monitor their health, according to the BBC. Press coverage of her breast cancer diagnosis triggered a historic increase in bookings for mammograms, a 2005 study found. (RELATED: Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez To Appear In X-Rated Film)
Kylie Minogue performing ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ during The 22nd BRIT Awards Show, Earls Court 2, London, UK, Wednesday 20 February 2002. (Photo by JMEnternational/Getty Images)
“I needed to have something that marked that time,” Monique said, according to BBC.
The three-part Netflix documentary had Michael Harte as director, the outlet reported.