Kylie Minogue has revealed for the first time that her cancer returned in 2021, having previously not publicly shared this information.
The singer candidly discusses being first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 at the age of 36, during Netflix's three-part Kylie documentary, released on May 20.
While her initial diagnosis was made very public and resulted in the star cancelling the remainder of her Showgirl greatest hits tour and pulling out of other major performances to get treatment, she chose to maintain privacy when her cancer returned 16 years later.
Kylie says she "struggled to find the right time" to make the second diagnosis public, because "I was a shell of a person."
She explains in the documentary, "My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021, I was able to keep that to myself, not like the first time."
"I don't feel obliged to tell the world," she continues. Kylie says, "I didn't want to leave the house again, I knew that cancer wasn't just a blip in my life."
"I would sit through interviews, and every opportunity I thought, 'Now is the time,' but I kept it to myself," she shares.
Because she'd been unable to find it in herself to share the second diagnosis, Kylie wanted to do something "to mark that time" in her life.
"What we ended up with, was something that said what I wanted to say," she explains. Kylie is referring to the song Story, from her 2023 album Tension.
Lyrics including, "I had a secret that I kept to myself," and "Turn another page, baby take the stage," are how she chose to cope with that difficult period in her life and remember it.
"Thankfully, I got through it - again - and all is well," the singer says. She adds, "My story continues, and you are part of my story."
Another part of her "story" involves the star's hopes to have a family, which sadly didn't happen for the singer.
Kylie shares that she "postponed my chemotherapy" to try and have a child. "I did try a few times with IVF, always with such a thread of hope, but I couldn't not try" she shares.
"If it had happened, it would've been just shy of a miracle," she adds with some realism. "But it didn't work out," she continues.
Kylie shares a poignant letter to "what might have been," written for the children she didn't end up having. Lines include, "Distant child, my flower, are you blowing in the breeze," and "Can you feel me breathe life into you."
Tearfully, she says, "One can't help but wonder what it would've been like," adding, "I'm so close to my family, but it just wasn't my path."
Kylie's sister, Dannii, who has a son, appears in the documentary to say, "I never saw myself as a parent, but she always did. And that's heartbreaking."
Kylie is currently airing on Netflix.
