NEW YORK — Singer Candi Staton says she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The 78-year-old said she received the news on the first day of rehearsals for her tour. She wrote in a statement: “I decided to keep it to myself and do some soul searching. I went through all of the emotions: denial, poor me and anger.” But she says that being on the road helped her.

She’s encouraging women, “including elderly women – to get a regular mammogram.”

– From news services