Anastacia has revealed her mastectomy scars in an empowering black and white photoshoot. Admitting she was at first "nervous" to do the cover shoot, Anastacia said she then felt "extremely empowered" to photograph the scars on her own terms. 

Anastacia bares allThe singer has battled breast cancer twice and in 2013 she underwent a Double Mastectomy. 

"I'm so nervous to let people see them, I really am, but I want to be able to go on the beach and not have the first photographs taken of my body to be ones that I didn't give," she explained to Fault Magazine.

"After today, paparazzi can take a photo of me breathing in and call it a gut or say all the things they want, that doesn't scare me - but my scars are a part of me and I want to be the one to reveal them.

"If paparazzi photographed them before today, I'd feel like I was being shamed but being able to release them this way, I feel extremely empowered," the 48-year-old added. 

More: Anastacia admits she has a crush on a certain member of One Direction

Explaining the placement of her scars, which are on her back, Anastasia said the surgeons had to work around her tattoos. 

She added that at first she had resented the scars, but now she sees them as part of her journey. "I resented how large they are but I also understood why I needed to go through all the physical changes," Anastasia said. 

"My scars are part of my journey and a reminder of all the things I went through with my mastectomy. 

"At this point, I feel great to be able to show them in a way that's artistic with a respected team in fashion because it's transformed my body's "FAULTs" into art," she added.