Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue was expected to be admitted to hospital as early as yesterday after revealing that she has early-stage breast cancer, amid an outpouring of support from fans and admirers around the world.
Anxious fans have flooded Web sites with messages of support while local supporters have delivered gifts to her Melbourne home since the announcement that the 36-year-old would begin treatment immediately.
"I think all Australians feel for her and wish her well," said Prime Minister John Howard.
"A young woman, Kylie Minogue, any young woman of that age to be diagnosed with that condition, it does send a shudder through you."
Minogue's illness has forced her to call off the Asian and Australian legs of her successful Showgirl tour which were due to begin in Sydney today.
The singer, who found fame in the 1980s in the soap opera Neighbours before launching a pop career that has seen her sell an estimated 40 million records, has apologized to fans for the postponement of the shows.
"I was so looking forward to bringing the Showgirl tour to Australian audiences and am sorry to have to disappoint my fans," she said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Nevertheless, hopefully all will work out fine and I'll be back with you all again soon."
Experts said yesterday that while women who suffer breast cancer before the age of 40 generally have a more aggressive form of the disease, the overall survival rate for all sufferers was 85 percent to 90 percent.
Minogue is also thought to have caught the disease before it spread to other parts of the body.
"Early breast cancer is highly treatable and the survival rates are very good," said Gill Batt of the New South Wales Cancer Council.
Minogue was resting in Melbourne ahead of the rest of her tour when the diagnosis was made. She is believed to be bunkered down in her family's home in the Melbourne suburb of Canterbury with partner Olivier Martinez.
Earlier yesterday at least 20 journalists were camped outside the two-storey home waiting for a glimpse of the diminutive star.
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