Kylie Minogue reveals secret second cancer diagnosis

Kylie was first diagnosed in 2005

The Australian singer, 57, reflects on her personal life and hugely successful music career in the three-part series, sharing candid confessions as she takes viewers on a trip down memory lane.

She discussed her experience with breast cancer, which Kylie was first diagnosed with back in 2005 when she was 36. At the time, this led to her cancelling her world tour and Glastonbury headline act at the last minute.

In the third episode of the new series, Minogue opened up about a second diagnosis she received in 2021 and decided to keep a secret from the public.

The admission surfaced during a conversation about the song Story, which was the closing track on her 2023 album, Tension, which features the lyrics: "I had a secret that I kept to myself, yeah / I had a one-way ticket that was goin’ nowhere."

Growing emotional in the documentary, Kylie explained that the lyrics were about the cancer coming back.

She told the camera: "There’s a song that we wrong called Story, and Story was written because… my second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021."

When the singer made her first cancer diagnosis public, an influx of media interest and a 'swarm of paparazzi' kept the singer 'trapped in her home'.

As a result, Kylie went on to say: "I was able to keep that to myself and go through that year and not like the first time.

"Wow, I’ve been trying to find the right time to say it. I don’t feel obliged to tell the world – and actually, I couldn’t at the time because I was just a shell of a person. I didn’t want to leave the house again at one point," she continued with tears in her eyes.

Just two years after her second diagnosis, Kylie's new single Padam Padam became a global hit, reaching number five on the singles chart and sparking renewed interest among younger fans.

During her press tour, Kylie Minogue considered revealing the truth behind her second diagnosis on several occasions, but ultimately decided against it.

She explained: "Padam Padam opened so many doors for me, but on the inside I knew that cancer wasn’t just a blip in my life, and I really just wanted to say what happened so I can let go of it.

"I’d sit through interviews and every opportunity I thought now’s the time, but I kept it to myself, so I needed to have something that marked that time."

Without elaborating on her recovery, she confirmed that she has since been given the all-clear.

"Thankfully, I got through it – again – and all is well. Hey, who knows what’s around the corner, but pop music nurtures me," Kylie shared.

Kylie went on to reveal that after her first diagnosis, she had to put her chemotherapy on pause to undergo IVF treatment.

Unfortunately, the two IVF rounds were not successful, with the singer revealing she instead wrote a letter to the child she never met.

She said: "If it happened, it would have been shy of a miracle, but it didn’t work out that way, so this was a letter to what might have been.

"One can’t help but wonder what it would have been like. I’m so close to my family, but it wasn’t my path."