It's a very good time to be Kylie Minogue: her biggest, most viral hit in decades ("Padam Padam"), a first-ever Las Vegas residency, and a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Dance Recording. At 55 and on top of the world, the Australian pop superstar takes nothing for granted — especially her health, 18 years after a battle with breast cancer, which she only rarely discusses.
In a surprisingly intimate and emotional December 17 interview on CBS Sunday Morning, the often-private icon opened up about the toll of that diagnosis and subsequent treatment. (She was declared cancer free in 2006.)
Choking back tears and taking a pause as she recalled that time in her life with CBS reporter Seth Doane, she explained that the "trauma" still lives in her body and psyche. Watch the raw, frank moment in the video below.
Ever the bright-sided optimist, however, the "Spinning Around" singer said that while her cancer diagnosis was "difficult" it was also "amazing" because "you are very aware of your body, of the love that's around you, of your capability."
And, of course, Kylie has a perfect cathartic outlet to work through it all. "I sing to process everything. I perform to process," she revealed. Sometimes I think I live to perform."
In a 2020 interview with People, Kylie relived the moment she found out she had cancer. "It's like the earth had kind of slipped off its axis. You see everything differently," she admitted. "I remember having had my diagnosis, but the world didn't know. I was with my brother [Brendan Minogue] and my boyfriend at the time [actor Oliver Martinez] — we were all in a daze and went to a cafe. The server at the cafe was like, 'Hey, how are you today?' We just kind of robotically said, 'Good, thanks,' and in that moment I just thought: You really don't know what anyone is going through."
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Following that painful discovery, Kylie had a lumpectomy and went through chemotherapy. She was declared cancer-free in February 2006.
These days, though, Kylie's focus is on her Vegas residency at the Venetian's new space, Voltaire, and getting reacquainted with an American audience. Does Kylie care that she's slightly lesser-known in the U.S.? "It matters a little, yeah!" she admitted on Sunday Morning. "It's something that I'm working on. It's part of why I'm here and spending time in your land."
Even the Melbourne native isn't sure when her ambition will let up. "How much success is enough success?" she added. Ironically, however, all the accolades, ticket sales and chart feats can stress her out. "I am a natural stressor when it comes to a lot of things!"
