Singer Jay Aston has revealed she cried “tears of joy” after doctors told her she was cancer-free.
The 57-year-old, who won the Eurovision Song Contest with Bucks Fizz in 1981, was diagnosed with mouth cancer in June and had a seven-hour operation to remove her lymph nodes as well a section of her tongue.
The gruelling surgery was successful and, in an interview with the Daily Mirror, Aston, who has 15-year-old daughter, Josie, with husband Dave Colquhoun, revealed the cancer has been removed from her body.
She said: “My surgeon came in 10 days after my operation to tell me himself. I was elated – there were tears of joy. I’m here to tell the tale, to be a mum and a wife.”
After being diagnosed with cancer, Aston feared her singing career was over. Despite the surgery being a success, it has left her with slurred speech and she does not know whether she will be able to sing again.
She added: “I don’t suppose I’ll ever be as I was but hopefully I will be able to sing. It’s an unknown. Singing and dancing is my identity – and that has been challenged.”
Aston had been performing with two of her former Bucks Fizz bandmates – Cheryl Baker, 64, and Mike Nolan, 63 – under the name The Fizz following a legal wrangle with a former member.
The band have been working on a new album and Aston could join The Fizz for a set in October, though she will need to mime.