Stricken Kylie denies Games appearance rumour

Pop diva Kylie Minogue’s Australian tour promoter denied today that the singer, who underwent breast cancer surgery in May, will perform at next year’s Commonwealth Games in her home town of Melbourne.

“Any suggestions or inferences that Kylie is to appear in any part of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne are completely erroneous and misleading,” Michael Gudinski said in a statement posted on the Web site of the star’s Australian tour promoter, The Frontier Touring Company.

His comments followed media reports that Minogue had been asked to perform at the Games’ closing ceremony.

Minogue, 37, was forced to postpone part of her ”Showgirl” world tour after being diagnosed with cancer and having a lump removed in a Melbourne hospital.

The remaining dates have not been rescheduled but Gudinski said the star would not forget fans in her home country.

“Fans holding tickets to Kylie’s Australian concerts can be assured they will be treated as a top priority,” he said.

“Obviously we’ll make sure the whole world knows when Kylie is ready to tour again but these fans are going to be at the top of our list.”

A study published earlier this month in the Medical Journal of Australia showed an “unprecedented” rise in the number of Australian women seeking early screening for breast cancer in the immediate aftermath of Minogue’s high-profile diagnosis.

Researchers found that the number of reservations made for breast exams rose by an average of 40% during the two weeks after the pop superstar’s diagnosis was made public.

The number of women who made a booking for an initial, or first-time, mammogram rose by nearly 101% during the same period, the study found.