Taylor Swift writes emotive open letter about her mother's private battle with cancer

The singer hopes her message will inspire fans with similar family fears

Taylor Swift has called on fans to encourage their parents to go for regular health checks following her mother’s unexpected diagnosis of cancer.

In an open letter posted to her tumblr, the singer wrote that she’d asked her mother to go for a routine check-up as a Christmas present “just to ease some worries of mine”.

“She agreed, and went in to get checked,” she continued.

“There were no red flags and she felt perfectly fine, but she did it just to get me and my brother off her case about it.

“She wanted you to know 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.”

She ended by thanking her fans for caring about her family “so much that she would want me to share this information with you”.

“I hope and pray that you never get news like this.”

UK residents who are worried about themselves or their loved ones getting screened for cancer can get the information they need from the NHS website here.