Kylie Minogue revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time nearly two decades after her first battle with the disease.
“My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021,” the pop star, 57, says in her new three-part documentary, Kylie, which premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, May 20, according to The Guardian. “I was able to keep that to myself … Not like the first time.”
Minogue went through a public battle with early-stage breast cancer in 2005. Following the diagnosis, the singer postponed her tour and delayed chemotherapy to undergo IVF treatments. She was declared cancer-free in 2006.
After being diagnosed a second time, Minogue decided to keep her battle private. In the doc, she confesses that she struggled “to find the right time” to reveal the news as she found a resurgence in her career with the song “Padam Padam.”
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“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,” she tells cameras. “I didn’t want to leave the house again at one point. ‘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 says that she got her second cancer diagnosis following a routine check-up and has since made a recovery.
“There will be someone out there who will benefit from a gentle reminder to do their check-ups,” she shares. “Early detection was very helpful and I am so grateful to be able to say that I am well today.”
She adds that her love for music helped her during that difficult time.
“Who knows what’s around the corner, but pop music nurtures me,” she says, noting, “My passion for music is greater than ever.”
Minogue’s private battle inspired her song “Story” which was released on her 2023 album Tension.
“I needed to have something that marked that time,” she shares of the track in the doc.
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Earlier this month, Minogue opened up about how her first cancer battle remained with her all these years later.
“You’re trying to understand something you’ve never thought about before. It’s a crash course,” she said in a May interview with BBC London. “It’s very deep and extended and it’s still with me today in many ways.”
In addition to opening up about her health, Minogue’s docuseries gives an inside look at her life as she got her start as a soap opera actress in Australia before becoming the global pop star fans love today.
Kylie drops on Netflix on Wednesday, May 20.
