KEY POINTS:
Today Jools Topp is bracing herself for one last round of chemotherapy. But on Friday night, she sang in public for the first time since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in August.
"She still sounds pretty good to me," twin sister Lynda Topp told the Herald on
Sunday.
"Jools is fine. She's good. She's doing pretty good - Monday is her last chemo."
The public appearance - the first time in eight months the Topp Twins have appeared on stage - was to raise money for other breast cancer patients.
It follows Jools Topp's own gruelling fight against the disease. She found a lump while having a shower in January last year. A mammogram then gave her the all-clear, but Jools felt something was wrong and went back in July for a second test, which showed the cancer. She had a mastectomy early October.
The 48-year-old's left breast and lymph nodes were removed in the operation, which was followed up with about three weeks of "aggressive chemotherapy".
Jools told the Woman's Weekly she had a scar stretching from under her left arm to the middle of her chest - and she would wear it proudly.
"This is who I am now... If that helps other women, so be it."
Lynda and Jools have signed an exclusive deal with a women's magazine, meaning Jools was not allowed to speak to media last week, her agent said.
But Lynda says Jools has been making a good recovery.
"It knocks you round a bit, but she's still out and about, riding her horse and things."
The sisters were on stage at the Auckland Museum for 10 minutes, performing to raise money for the Louise Perkin Foundation. Jools appeared frail - she lost 10kg during the chemotherapy - and most of her hair had fallen out.
But she vowed she would survive, emphasising the importance of healthy eating, rather than relying on doctors or drugs.
She did thank the doctors and nurses at Auckland Hospital's oncology unit, many of whom were in the 300-strong crowd that gave the twins a standing ovation.
"It was great, yeah," Lynda says. "It has been an experience - we've always been fundraisers in New Zealand, and we've always been part of the whole awareness of breast cancer.
"I suppose it makes it a bit more personal. I now know what it's like to be a support person. We've got our badge of honour to do these things now."
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
