Kylie Minogue found being ''selfish'' helped her battle breast cancer.

The 46-year-old singer admits she is used to putting other people first, but when diagnosed with the disease in 2005, she took advice from friends who told her to focus only on herself and allow others to help her.

Asked on Australian TV show '60 Minutes' by Karl Stefanovic how she got through her ordeal, she joked: ''Oh boy, how did I do that!''

She added: ''Someone had said to me at the time, 'You need to be a little bit selfish.'

''It's not in my nature to be selfish but now is the time to do that let people take care of you. And...that's what I did.''

The 'Wow' hitmaker lost her hair during treatment and said it felt like a ''miracle'' when it started growing back as it was the first sign she was on the road to recovery.

She said: ''It is years until you really get the all clear and by the time my hair started growing back it was very exciting, it was like a miracle.''

Looking back on her ordeal, Kylie admitted she felt a ''mixture'' of emotions.

Asked what the time in her life had taught her, she said: ''Many things. I know I have strength but when you're fighting something where there is a lot of unknown it's a mixture, a mixture of emotions and memories.''