The "What's Up?" singer discovered her illness after undergoing elective breast reduction surgery.
Throughout her career, Linda Perry has let her music do the talking. Now, she's opening up in a new documentary about a secret battle with breast cancer.
At 59, Perry was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy in 2021. She tells that she's grateful for catching the illness early.
“I feel so lucky because there are so many women who don’t get that opportunity,” she says.
The former 4 Non Blondes singer discovered she had cancer while preparing for an elective breast reduction surgery. This revelation is detailed in her documentary, Linda Perry: Let It Die Here, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 6.
After her surgery, routine pathology tests revealed that Perry had triple-negative cancer in her breast. According to the American Cancer Society, triple-negative cancer “tends to grow and spread faster” than other types of cancer, has fewer treatment options, and generally has a worse prognosis.
Perry believes that without the surgery, she would not have found her cancer until it was too late. She would have likely attributed any symptoms to the stress of caring for her ill mother at the time.
“My doctor basically said the cancer I had was the kind that she finds in people who have six months to maybe two years to live,” Perry shares. “I would’ve never found it, and I would’ve never done anything about it when I started feeling off, because I would’ve thought it was because of my mom and the stressful situation I was under.”
Perry’s doctor presented her with two options: radiation or a double mastectomy. She chose the latter, considering it a “no-brainer.”
During this period, Perry, who has a 9-year-old son named Rhodes with her ex-wife Sara Gilbert, was filming Let It Die Here. After discussing it with director Don Hardy, she decided to continue filming despite her diagnosis.
“The hammer was on me, and this happened in real time. I remember calling Don and going, ‘You’re not going to believe this,’” she recalls. “And he’s like, ‘Well, do you want to talk about it?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, we’re in it. Let’s just do it.’”
Best known for her time in 4 Non Blondes and as a songwriter for hits like “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera and “Get the Party Started” by Pink, Perry is now gearing up for the documentary release and a new, yet-to-be-titled album.
“I am really finally enjoying this person I’m becoming,” she says. “I’ve always had this thing where I just want to be the best. So much f---ing pressure to be the best. But now I’m like, I just want to be the best at who I am. And that takes a lot of pressure off. I don’t want to be f---ing Superman. I don’t want to save the world. I just want to save the people I can, and I want to be the best person that I am.”
The Quran - Chapter Ar-Rahman : 26
Every being on earth is bound to perish.
The attached pronoun [ it ] refers to اَلاَرض al-ard [ the earth ] which has been explicitly mentioned antecedently in verse [ 10] وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ (And the earth is placed by Him for creatures).
Furthermore, 'the earth' is one of those general things that can be referred to by a pronoun even if they are not mentioned explicitly as an antecedent. Verse [ 26] means that man and jinn that dwell on the earth are subject to decay and death.
Jinn and man have specifically been singled out in this verse, because in this Surah these two species of Allah's creation are mainly addressed. This, however, does not necessarily imply that the heaven and the celestial beings are not perishable.
In fact, on another occasion in the Qur'an Allah has stated in general terms: كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ (Everything is going to perish except His Face). (28:88)
