Celine Dion thanks supporters after deciding cancel tour dates to help husband René Angélil

Celine Dion sent a message of thanks to her fans for supporting her decision to take a break from music while she focusses on her husband René Angélil's health.

The 46-year-old singer, who recently announced that she has put her Las Vegas residency on hold and cancelled her remaining tour dates due to René's declining health, said she has been "overwhelmed" by her fans' good wishes.

"Since it was announced last week that Celine was taking some time off to focus on her family, we’ve received an overwhelming number of messages of support for Celine and René," read the message. "On behalf of Celine and her family, we sincerely thank you all for your incredible love and loyalty.

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"We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage the Celine Dion online community to stay as active as ever!" the post continued. "Rest assured that our team will continue to work hard to help fans stay close to Celine, even during her time out of the spotlight. If you would like to send a special message to Celine or René, we invite you to do so on the CelineDion.com Forum."

Two months after René stepped down as his wife's manager, Celine made the announcement that she was taking time off to help her husband.

"I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband's healing," she said. "And to do so, it's important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children."

© Photo: Facebook

Speaking to People magazine, Celine added: "I also want to apologize to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support." The couple, who have a 26-year age gap, went on their first date when Celine was 19 and René was 45. They got engaged in 1991 and were married in 1994, in a lavish ceremony at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec. They have three children, 13-year-old René-Charles and twin boys Nelson and Eddy, who were born in 2011, following a sixth attempt at IVF. René, 72, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999 and had a tumour removed from his throat in December 2013.