Kylie’s world was thrown upside down when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May last year, days before she was due to start a sellout Australian tour. In a TV interview with Cat Deeley, in July of this year when she had turned the corner, Kylie said “One important thing to know is you’re still the same person during it. You’re stripped down near zero. But it seems that most people come out at the other end feeling more like themselves than ever before. I’m more eager than ever to do what I did. I want to do everything.” 

Diagnosed with early stage cancer at the age of 36, it was inconceivable to think that Australia’s most famous and endearing daughter has been struck down with the disease. After a lumpectomy and a partial mastectomy, Kylie underwent a gruelling six-month course of chemotherapy in Paris where she withdrew into her own private world to cope with her illness. A pale and gaunt figure, the treatment took its toll. She dug deep, fought her battle and won. Her dignity and strength made her a source of inspiration to all breast cancer sufferers the world over. Kylie’s recovery is remarkable and she has had a hugely beneficial effect raising awareness of breast cancer and focussing women’s attention on their own health and well being. An Australian study found that thanks to the media coverage of Kylie's encounter with breast cancer, the number of women booking themselves in for breast screenings increased 20-fold. It is hoped that this will reduce the number of deaths caused by the disease. For the best chance of recovery, it is vital to catch breast cancer in its early stages. Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October brings home to all of us the ordeal breast cancer sufferers go through and Kylie’s
diagnosis has helped to highlight the issues that ordinary people have to deal with and the horror that is the disease. Kylie has words of encouragement to everyone who is going through the trauma of treatment; “I love to say you can get through it. You can.”  

Glowing with health, Kylie is now back on stage. The focus is firmly back on her career and her adoring fans can’t get enough of her. Kylie’s two British homecoming shows at Wembley Arena on January 2nd and 3rd sold out in 6 minutes flat. Two further shows were then announced for January 5th and 6th but demand was so high that the venue’s
computer system crashed. The two additional dates have now sold-out as well, so a final two dates have been added on Jan 8th and 9th, bringing the number of shows at Wembley to a staggering six in total.

Tickets are now on sale for the last two dates. Jan 9th will be the last date on the “Showgirl” tour anywhere in the world as other commitments will prevent Kylie adding any more dates.

Kylie’s live agent Dave Chumbley said,  “the demand for Kylie is absolutely phenomenal and these are the fastest selling shows I have ever experienced. It will be fantastic to see Kylie back on stage again.” This new show will allow the many UK fans who could not get tickets for her tour last year to see one of the most spectacular events Kylie has ever created. The show will differ from that which played the UK in 2005. Kylie has decided to end her Showgirl Homecoming Tour in Manchester immediately after the Wembley shows. As this is expected to be her last shows for 2007, Kylie’s promoters are gearing up for another huge rush on tickets. Kylie has made it clear to them that this will definitely mark the end of her greatest hits tour which started in Glasgow in march 2005 as ‘Showgirl’.

There is no doubting Kylie’s fans adore her and they have travelled the road with her. Kylie comments about the 2005 tour are doubly relevant in 2006: “Showgirl is not only a celebration of pop songs and my career, but of a long time relationship with my audience. This is my way to say thank you and to share some of the most important moments of my journey so far, a trip down memory lane. It’s been so much fun putting the show together. The set list was my starting point and the biggest challenge was to represent my finest records and also my personal favourites. The show has taken just under a year to design and build but it has been a lifetime in the making. I hope you enjoy this special evening! My love and thanks - Kylie.”

Little did she realise what that journey would be. Her fans have watched with concern, read every snippet of news about her illness, prayed for her to have the strength to fight, and are overjoyed to see their golden girl back where she belongs.  

Caroline Monk is the girlfriend of TV presenter Matthew Wright and writes a weekly column for Closer magazine. She found a lump in October 2004 aged 35 years.

“I had never checked my boobs before – I always thought that they were not big enough to worry about.  I was fiddling with my necklace when I found a very hard lump the size of a pea.  Every time I fiddled with it my hands shook.  I knew that there was something odd about it.  My GP said that it was definitely a cyst, but referred me to a specialist.  I was really scared. I felt like a little kid of about three years old, sitting in this chair that was too big for me – you know when your sitting there swinging your legs with your feet hardly touching the floor.  The surgeon couldn’t find the lump.  My insistence that “it is a bloody lump” resulted in a scan which showed a big black mass – it was bad whatever it was.  Two days later I was diagnosed with a very aggressive grade 3 cancer.  I didn’t really react to the news.  The doctor asked “Are you taking this in?” and I said “Yes, I’m fine.  That’s cool.”  Of course I was in shock.  I always look on the positive side and in a weird way just thought of it as another adventure.  Not for a single second did it go through my head that I was going to die.” 
Read the rest of Caroline’s inspirational story within inthePINK magazine, out now.