Etheridge recovering from cancer surgeries

October 18, 2004
Reuters

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Rock singer Melissa Etheridge, who revealed earlier this month that she was battling breast cancer, says she is recovering at home from two recent surgeries and plans to undergo chemotherapy.

"The good news is they took out the tumor and a few lymph nodes, only one of which was positive (for cancer)," Etheridge, 43, said in a statement posted on her Web site Friday.

"I still have both of my breasts, and whether I will keep them is a bridge I have to cross later."

"What an unexpected journey this is," she added. "I will be entering the phase of chemotherapy next. Who knows what that will bring."

In the meantime, the Kansas-born artist said she plans to continue working on an upcoming greatest-hits album, as well as a pilot TV comedy being developed for ABC. In it, she stars as a single lesbian raising a child with a straight roommate.

Etheridge made headlines and became a hero in the gay community in 1993 when she publicly revealed that she is a lesbian. In 2000, she disclosed that fellow rocker David Crosby was the biological father of her children.

The raspy-voiced rocker, known for such hits as "Come to My Window" and "I'm the Only One," announced October 8 that she was canceling the remaining 11 dates on her North American tour in order to deal with her illness. She said doctors have described her prognosis as "excellent."

She also urged her fans to "please vote" in the U.S. presidential election on November 2.