The 78-year-old Candi Staton said she received news of cancer over the summer on the first day of rehearsals for an upcoming tour. She writes in a statement, “I decided to keep it to myself and do some soul searching. I went through all of the emotions: denial, poor me and anger.”

But she says that being on the road helped her.

Staton will begin 12 weeks of chemotherapy*. She says she found a lump through self-check and she’s encouraging women, “including elderly women — to get a regular mammogram*.”

The Grammy-nominated soul and gospel* singer’s top 40 hits include “Young Hearts Run Free” and a cover of Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man.” Staton released the album “Unstoppable,” earlier this year.

(SD-Agencies)