One of rock ‘n’ roll’s most iconic female singers has revealed that she will soon be undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer, prompting a flurry of concern among her legion of fans and questions about when or if her storied band will again return to the big stage.

Ann Wilson, who has led the five-member Heart since its inception in 1967, recently made known her diagnosis in a heartfelt social media post where she thanked her millions of followers for their support while she takes the rest of the year away to recover.

“I recently underwent an operation to remove something that, as it turns out, was cancerous,” Wilson wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “The operation was successful & I’m feeling great but the doctors are now advising me to undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy & I’ve decided to do it. And so doctors are instructing me to take the rest of the year away from the stage in order to fully recover.”

The “Barracuda” group will be canceling the remainder of its 2024 tour, according to the Daily Caller. Wilson, 74, said she is devastated by the thought of putting her fans on the back burner but urged ticket holders to hang on to their seats for future concerts.

“To the ticket buyers, I really do wish we could do these gigs. Please know that I absolutely plan to be back on stage in 2025. My team is getting those details sorted & we’ll let you know the plan as soon as we can.

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“Thank you all for the support. This is merely a pause. I’ve much more to sing,” Wilson concluded, noting that “this is the last public statement I’d like to make on the matter.”

The ban’s Royal Flush Tour kicked off its North American leg on April 20 in Greenville, South Carolina, according to the Independent, where they were joined by fellow rockers of yore Cheap Trick. A number of cities will miss out on the opportunity to see Wilson in action this year, including Montreal, Canada; Cincinnati, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Greenbay, Wisconsin and Las Vegas, Nevada. The cancelations come after the band announced in May that all previously planned stops in Europe would be postponed. At the time, the band’s representative said in a statement, “Ann Wilson will undergo a time-sensitive but routine medical procedure for which the minimum recovery time is six weeks.”

Wilson, who sings alongside her guitarist sister Nancy Wilson, has paved the way for generations of female rock ‘n’ roll artists who count her as both a mentor and an inspiration. Some of their biggest hits, including “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You” and “Alone,” contributed to their 2023 lifetime achievement award by the Recording Academy. They were inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame that same year, according to the AP.

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