Kylie to Begin Cancer Treatment

Kylie Minogue has cancelled her Australian tour and pulled out of the Glastonbury festival after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she announced yesterday.

The 36-year-old pop star is to undergo immediate treatment after being told she had the disease while visiting her parents in her home town of Melbourne with her boyfriend, the French actor Olivier Martinez.

The news was broken by the singer's production company in Sydney, where she was due to take part in a dress rehearsal today before the start of her Australian tour tomorrow, taking in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, followed by a headline appearance at Glastonbury at the end of June.

Her sister, pop singer Dannii Minogue, said: "The news is very upsetting, although as the cancer has been diagnosed at such an early stage we are all very optimistic that everything will be OK."

The Australian-born singer became known in Britain when she joined the Australian soap opera Neighbours as the tomboy car mechanic Charlene Mitchell in 1986.

Her pop career began in 1988 with the hits I Should Be So Lucky, The Locomotion and the duet with Jason Donovan, Especially For You.

The No 1 Spinning Around in 2000 marked a shift to a more dance- and disco-inspired sound, bringing her a more grown-up audience.

She has had 37 hit singles in the UK and had sold 40m singles and 25m albums at the start of this year.

The singer has worked to raise awareness of breast cancer. Three years ago, a bra from her Love Kylie underwear range sold for £2,400 at a charity auction for Breast Cancer Care.