Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and successfully beat the deadly disease thanks to a series of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment. Despite being a survivor, she still can’t help but feel a certain sense of wonder and sadness even years after the diagnosis.

The artist, who routinely visits the doctor for scans to this day, explained to The Sunday Times magazine: “Now it’s more of a formality, I don’t have to do it as often. When I reached my 10-year mark, I burst into tears. It’s a much longer process than … Again, typical of me, I gave enough information because I felt people needed to know something, but no one knows the whole story. It’s a lengthy process and it affects everything.

Some days, I’m still not at peace with it. I go, ‘Dammit, I wish I could just wear what I used to wear’ … It changes a lot of things. Christmas makes you stop and think a bit of those things, too. Who do I want to spend my Christmas time with? Who do I miss? Who’s not here? It breaks my heart to think about what my family had to go through.”

But it hasn’t been all terrible for the 48-year-old singer – who is engaged to Joshua Sasse – as her experience has taught her a lot over the years. However, she admits to despise the phrase “There are options.”

She explained: “When cancer strikes, you have to consider all of that. Trust me, there’s a point when the next person who says, ‘Well, there are many options,’ you want to scream.

Of course, it’s great there are options. It’s marvellous there are options! But when you’re dealing with all the other stuff and things that you took for granted are taken away from you, it’s like, yes, there are options, but …”