Although she had a shoirt relationship two months after her surgery, Anastacia has been single during her illness and recovery, but the support of family and friends such as Elton John played a major role in her getting well.

Just over a year ago, Anastacia faced the fight of her life when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The 30-year-old Chicago-born blonde, a little lady with a big heart and an even bigger voice, had taken the world by storm with two multi-million selling albums, "Not That Kind" and "Freak Of Nature". She had lived with Crohn's disease since her teens, fought her way to global superstardom after years of obscurity, and was the epitome of the strong-minded independent woman.

Then, during preparation for a breast reduction operation in January 2003 - she attributes years of back pain and slipped discs to her large bust - cancer was discovered.

"I felt I had more love than ever from so many people during my illness," she smiles. "EJ is my Fairy Godmother - that's what he calls himself when he phones me up. He was phenomenal and was there with me every step of the way."

"Before I went into surgery he assessed and researched everything. He made me feel completely secure and comfortable with who I was going to see and what I was going into."

"Elton was great because he had more power than my mother to make all those phone calls to get all these great people. He didn't expect me to be in a great mood and that was cool too.

"Much later in my recovery, he called me and I was driving in LA with friends. I said, 'EJ, I'm feeling back to normal'. And he replied, 'Darling, you've never been normal'."

She laughs heartily at the memory, but it's not hard to see what Elton meant.

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