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When Kylie Minogue took to the stage on Saturday night in ostrich feathers and sequins for her first show since being diagnosed with breast cancer, her family, friends and millions of fans were delighted.
In front of screaming supporters in Sydney, she joined the growing ranks of stars who prove there is life after breast cancer. In recent years the American singers Anastacia and Melissa Etheridge have proved it is possible to continue with a high-profile career in spite of the illness.
Just last week the singer and actress Marianne Faithfull revealed she had made a full recovery following surgery after the disease had been caught in its early stages. After some recuperation time she is preparing to tour next year.
However, at the weekend 32-year-old Australian actor Belinda Emmett died after a long battle with breast cancer with her husband, television presenter Rove McManus, by her side.
But it is Kylie who has become a focus for the disease, which is diagnosed in more than 44,000 women in the UK each year. Improved detection rates and treatment have meant that those affected have a much improved outlook.
Kylie's comeback also symbolised to millions of fellow sufferers that there is life after diagnosis for a disease which kills about 12,000 women each year in the UK.
Eighteen months ago, just two days before she was to begin the Australian leg of her world tour, she received the devastating news that she had the disease. About 1500 British women in her age group (35-39) are diagnosed with the disease each year.
After a brief statement about her illness, she all but disappeared from public life, and after successful surgery in her home town of Melbourne, she holed up in Paris where she shares a home with her boyfriend, the French actor Olivier Martinez, to recover.
She emerged with a short blond crop, a children's book she had written called The Showgirl Princess and a renewed zest for life. In her first interview since her treatment, she said: "I just want to do everything. I just can't help but see things differently."
Kylie's struggle may also have helped others. A study by Breakthrough Breast Cancer found the singer's diagnosis had heightened awareness of the disease in two-thirds of women aged 25 to 44.
Those who do get breast cancer have a better chance of enjoying a near normal life, as survival rates continue to rise due to greater awareness of signs of the disease and improvements in screening and treatment. Four-fifths of women can expect to live for at least another five years if they are diagnosed in time, yet just 30 years ago only half of sufferers could expect to survive that long.
Treatments are improving all the time. Within months a new drug, Tykerb, is expected to be available, which can be taken at home daily and can halve the speed of tumour growth, giving extra months to those in the later stages of the disease.
Improvements in reconstructive surgery are also helping to lessen the psychological effects of breast removal. In some instances fat and tissue can be taken from the bottom and used to create a more natural-looking bust.
New techniques for early detection are continually helping the fight against the disease.
Kylie's delirious fans love it
Kylie Minogue returned energetically belting out her trademark hits in front of a cheering, screaming crowd of thousands on Saturday night.
She began her concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre with an overture of her best-known songs before whipping into the single Better the Devil You Know.
The near sell-out crowd of 10,000 included parents with their children, teenyboppers, bohemians in black berets as well as a large contingent of gay men in pink hot pants and pink boa feathers who over the years have adopted Minogue as an icon.
Writing in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph, Clair Weaver said the show was "more than just a concert, it was an extravaganza - a piece of musical theatre on a grand scale".
"And her delirious fans loved it, singing and clapping along with an almost evangelical fervour."
- INDEPENDENT, additional reporting: REUTERS
