Anastacia announced yesterday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. "My doctor was insistent that I have a mammogram (during a routine checkup last week) even though it was not required," the twenty-nine-year-old singer said in a statement. "He saved my life. I appreciate all who are concerned, but please don't worry. I have no intention of letting this news get me down. I'm a fighter by nature, and nothing will ever change that." Anastacia also suffers from Crohn's disease, a chronic intestinal illness she was diagnosed with at age thirteen.

The singer had been at work on a new music video for "Love Is a Crime," her latest single, which is featured on the soundtrack to the Golden Globe-winning film Chicago. She plans to go ahead with all work on the video.

The Chicago native got her big break after making an appearance on MTV's short-lived talent show The Cut. She didn't win but made a fan of Michael Jackson, who encouraged her and helped her get a deal with Epic Records.

Her first album Not That Kind was an international hit and scored her a U.S. dance hit with "I'm Outta Love." Her follow-up album, Freak of Nature, was released last June, and the song "Boom" became the anthem of the 2002 World Cup.

CHRISTINA SARACENO
(January 22, 2003)