In pictures: Kylie's pop career

1 of 12 Pop star Kylie Minogue has cancelled a Glastonbury festival headline appearance and the Australian leg of her current world tour after discovering she has breast cancer. Her 17-year singing career began with the number one hit I Should Be So Lucky in 1988.

2 of 12 Minogue was playing Charlene Mitchell in TV soap Neighbours as her UK chart success continued with Got To Be Certain then The Loco-Motion, which she promoted on TV shows such as Jim'll Fix It. It became the Australian singer's first US hit.

3 of 12 Minogue had a Christmas 1988 hit with Especially For You, a duet with Neighbours co-star Jason Donovan. The actor denied their off-screen relationship before Minogue had a high-profile romance with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence.

4 of 12 Production team Stock Aitken Waterman helped Minogue notch up 19 early hits but she changed her image during the end of their working relationship to project a more sexual persona.

5 of 12 By 1994 Minogue had signed up to dance label Deconstruction, marking the launch of her new self-titled album with an appearance on BBC comedy series The Vicar of Dibley.

6 of 12 By 1999 Minogue had experimented with numerous image changes and the longevity of her pop career meant a new Minogue waxwork had to be made for London tourist attraction Madame Tussauds.

7 of 12 Minogue greeted the new millennium with a new Parlophone record contract, the album Light Years and her fifth UK number one Spinning Around - with a video starring a small pair of gold hotpants.

8 of 12 By 2000 Minogue had developed a flamboyant stage persona, inspiring the title of her latest Showgirl tour and this Royal Variety Show performance.

9 of 12 In 2001 Minogue encouraged the world to dance like robots as Can't Get You Out Of My Head topped the UK chart and revived her popularity in the US.

10 of 12 Can't Get You Out Of My Head won the best international video prize at the 2002 Brit Awards, where Minogue was also named best international female.

11 of 12 Before embarking on her latest tour Minogue played the voice of Florence in a 2005 movie adaptation of children's series The Magic Roundabout, attending its London premiere.

12 of 12 Her latest Showgirl world tour was a theatrical extravaganza of feathers, head-dresses and corsets as she performed most of her greatest hits. Minogue is receiving treatment in Melbourne for her early stage breast cancer.