American singer Sheryl Crow, who had breast cancer surgery last year, has sent good wishes to opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who is battling pancreatic cancer.
Crow is on the Italian resort island of Ischia, where she received a music award.
"Best wishes to maestro Pavarotti, that he can survive this terrible illness, an experience that I, too, had, and that made me stronger today," Crow told the Italian news agency ANSA.
Pavarotti underwent surgery in New York last summer after a cancerous mass was discovered. He said he planned to return to the stage after his recovery.
The 71-year-old, who officially retired from the opera world in 2004, is said to be working on an album of sacred songs due out in 2008. He is also teaching.
Crow said her recovery has been boosted by the adoption of her infant son, Wyatt, whom she's had for several months.
"Thanks to him, I work much better. Two days ago, I finished cutting an album," said the 45-year-old singer whose hits include All I Wanna Do, Soak Up The Sun and Leaving Las Vegas.
Crow also acknowledged that 2006 was a "terrible year,"Â not just because of the cancer but also because it was the year she broke up with cycling champ Lance Armstrong.
"I was, above all, very much in pain for the end of a love story."
She also had another message for Pavarotti: you will be stronger.
"There were tough moments, during radiation therapy, but then it was the same pain to make me what I am today and what I wanted to be."
'He's doing well'Terri Robson, Pavarotti's manager, said last week the tenor was feeling stronger and "very positive."
The famed opera star's wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, reiterated on Tuesday that her husband was doing better and that he is preparing the new album.
"He's doing well. He completed a fifth chemotherapy session and he did not lose a hair," she said Tuesday, according to ANSA.
"He is facing all the treatments with determination and courage," she added. "And he has the support of his entire family all around him."
Mantovani also said that the maestro's new album of sacred music will feature duets with other artists and that he is also considering resuming his farewell tour, interrupted when he received his cancer diagnosis.
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