Kylie Minogue says not finished with pop stardom

Australian singer Kylie Minogue poses as she arrives at the Cannes Festival Palace to attend the NRJ Music Awards January 26, 2008. [Agencies]

Breast cancer sidelined her for two years, but pop singer Kylie Minogue is back with a vengeance with a new album, an upcoming tour and the belief that after 20 years at the top, she isn't finished yet.

Minogue, who transformed herself from a 1980s soap opera actress to one of the biggest-selling female stars and sex symbols in Europe and in her native Australia, said her well-publicized cancer battle in 2005 forced her to evaluate her life.

"You do tend to hear more about people who have said, 'That's it. I'm going to go in a completely different direction.' And I think I would have had a valid excuse.

"But no, not me. I'm not finished. I get joy out of what I do. I'm ready to go on," Minogue, 39, told Reuters in an interview.

Since recovering from surgery and chemotherapy in 2005, the petite blonde has written a children's book, launched a perfume and a London museum fashion exhibit, been honored with an Order of the British Empire by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and released her 10th studio album, "X," in Europe in November.

Not that "cancer" is a word you hear Minogue using often. In fact, she'd rather not talk about her illness at all.

"I don't have a nice little phrase to summarize what that meant, or what it did, or how I've changed. I don't want to talk about it too much.

"I have some understanding of what other people might go through, but I don't have the answers. I am sure the day will come where I will be more forward about it. If I was one-on-one with a patient, I would share everything," she said.