Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 41-year-old symphonic heavy metal star has revealed she was given the shock diagnosis just over two weeks ago, but reassured her fans that it’s a “non-aggressive” form of cancer and her prognosis is “very good”.
The Dutch star is set to undergo surgery followed by radiotherapy but expects to be “cancer-free” and to keep her breast.
In a social media statement, she said: “A letter to you. Life comes in waves, with ups and downs.
“I have had the joy of riding many highs, and I have shared these with you through social media and the many many shows worldwide throughout the many years of my career.
“But now a new wave hit me. Not a good one. I have breast cancer. It was diagnosed a little over 2 weeks ago and I will have surgery tomorrow to remove the tumour. My prognosis is very good!!! It seems to be a non-aggressive cancer, which seems to not have spread. I will keep my breast. And I will be cancer free after this surgery, plus a local radiation treatment that will take place three months after this surgery, hopefully. We will know more after the surgery to see if this positive prognosis stands.”
Floor – who has five-year-old daughter Freja with fellow musician husband Hannes Van Dahl – has implored women to attend their mammogram appointments, as without it, her cancer would have gone undetected.
She said: “The word cancer is a shocker. All that you found important in life before this diagnosis changes radically within minutes. Now I just want to be healthy again. I want to see my daughter grow into a woman; I want to live! And the scariest part of this diagnosis is that I thought I was healthy! I didn’t feel the cancer, I didn’t know it was there until I, as a 40+ woman, went to a standard mammogram checkup. Something many countries offer, for free even for the lucky ones.”
She continued: “Had I not gone there, the tumour would have gone undetected. In a year from now this could have grown much bigger. The thought of that makes me share this story with you. A mammogram is lifesaving! It’s uncomfortable and you might think that you won’t have something in your breasts anyway but GO! And for the men reading this: remind your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister to go and get checked. Even without the luxury I as a western woman experience with free mammogram checkups: GO! Luckily, there are many organisations that offer information about self-detection if you do not have access or funds for a mammogram.”
Floor hopes to be well enough to embark on Nightwish’s upcoming European tour, which kicks off on November 20 in Antwerp, Belgium.
She added: “If I might inspire you to take good care of yourself, then something good will come out of this cancer diagnosis.
“If all goes as planned, I will be up and running in time for the European tour with Nightwish, that will start on the 20th of November! And I am optimistic since my prognosis is good! I promise to take good care of myself.
“I will be off the grid for a while to focus on myself. (sic)”
She signed off the post: “Thank you for reading this letter.”