Kylie Minogue has opened up about her second cancer diagnosis in 2021, a testament to her resilience following her successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005. In her new self-titled Netflix documentary, released on Wednesday, the Australian singer shares that she "got through it, again," but chose to keep the news private.
"My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021," Minogue, now 57, reveals. "I was able to keep it to myself, unlike the first time." She continues, "Thankfully, I got through it, again, and all is well. Hey, who knows what's around the corner, but pop music nurtures me... my passion for music is greater than ever."
Minogue admits that she struggled to find the right moment to share her latest challenge, especially amidst the success of her Grammy-winning 2023 dance-pop single "Padam Padam." "I didn't feel obliged to tell the world, and actually, I just couldn't at the time because I was a shell of a person," she explains. "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."
Despite not revealing it to fans or journalists, Minogue subtly hinted at her second round of cancer treatment on her 2023 album "Tension." One track, titled "Story," contains the lyrics: "I had a secret that I kept to myself / Turn another page, baby take the stage."
In the three-part documentary, directed by Michael Harte, who also worked on the David Beckham film, Minogue says, "I needed to have something that marked that time." She was diagnosed after a routine check-up and stresses that she chose to share this new information in the hope that "someone out there will benefit from a gentle reminder to do their check-ups." "Early detection was very helpful, and I am so grateful to be able to say that I am well today," she adds in the film's promotional material.
When she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, Minogue had to cancel the remainder of her "Showgirl" greatest hits tour and withdraw from headlining Glastonbury Festival's Sunday legends slot to receive treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiotherapy. At the time, it was widely publicized, and Minogue received an overflow of well wishes from fans and public messages of support from famous figures. As one of the few female stars to go public with a cancer diagnosis at the time, Minogue was widely praised for raising awareness of the disease. It led to a significant number of women getting themselves checked, particularly in Australia - and was dubbed the "Kylie effect."
She had postponed her treatment to undergo numerous rounds of IVF in the hope of having a baby. "I was 36 when I got my diagnoses, so already it's – you need to be thinking about children," she says in the film. "So I did try. I even postponed my chemotherapy to try, which was quite scary at the time because you just want it out, gone." She adds, "If it had happened, it would have been just shy of a miracle. But it didn't work out that way."
Minogue was given the all-clear and, in 2008, revealed that she had originally been misdiagnosed and told she "was alright and had nothing to worry about." She finally made it to Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage in 2019 – 14 years later than planned – blinking back tears with a decades-spanning greatest hits set that became the festival's most-watched performance ever. In December last year, she secured a UK Christmas number one single and album chart double.
The new docuseries follows Minogue's rise to fame from her early days starring in the Australian soap opera "Neighbours" through to her journey becoming one of pop's biggest stars with hits such as "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and "Spinning Around." It features archive footage and interviews with friends and family, including her former "Neighbours" co-star and ex-boyfriend Jason Donovan, sister Dannii, and musician Nick Cave.
