“She wanted you to know,” singer writes in emotional post

Apr 10, 2015 08:50 GMT  ·  By

Taylor Swift and her mother, Andrea Finlay, are very close: as fans know, Andrea is always at her daughter’s shows, even plucking fans from the audience and taking them backstage to meet their idol. As Taylor is preparing for a new tour, Andrea won’t be attending as many shows as before.

She has been diagnosed with cancer, Taylor told her fans in an emotional post on social media some hours ago.

“She wanted you to know”

Taylor begins her message by saying that she’s always been very open to her fans, letting them in her private life by means of her music, which is her way of “speaking out” about things that upset her or make her happy.

This time, though, she’s taking a different approach, and not necessarily because that was her intention: her mother has been diagnosed with cancer.

Taylor and her brother asked their mother to give them only one Christmas present last year: that she get a full medical check-up, just to put their mind at ease. She wasn’t feeling sick or showing any signs that her health was deteriorating, Taylor continues, but she wasn’t getting regular, thorough check-ups either.

The results came back the other day - and they’re of the worst kind they were expecting.

“She wanted you to know,” Taylor says, “because your parents may be too busy juggling everything they’ve got going on to go to the doctor, and maybe you reminding them to go get checked for cancer could possibly lead to an early diagnosis and an easier battle… Or peace of mind in knowing that they’re healthy and there’s nothing to worry about. She wanted you to know why she may not be at as many shows this tour. She’s got an important battle to fight.”

Secret is out, but privacy is still expected

In the same post, Taylor stresses that, while she was the one to make this family secret public, she still expects her and her mother’s privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

To make sure that this happens, she refuses to say what type of cancer her mom has or whether it’s in an advanced stage or not.

Instead, she turns the focus on her fans’ parents, because, by speaking out on this, she’s leading them by example, not just by advice. Her full message is available on Tumblr.