14 February 2020
Newsdesk
Shania Twain was determined to maintain a career in music despite her battle with Lyme disease because it would have "killed" her not to perform.
The star took the stage last week (ends07Feb20) for the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women Red Dress Collection 2020 event in New York, and is thrilled she was able to perform.
"It would have killed me not to be able to ever sing again," she tells People magazine. "I wasn't going to let my life be over if I wasn't going to be able to sing again, but I would have been very sad and I would have mourned that forever."
Twain has had to work hard to get her voice back on track, recalling how tough things became following her diagnosis in 2003.
"When I realized that I could barely sing at all anymore, I was like, 'I'm humiliating myself. I can't get out there and do this. I have to stop until I figure it out.' I thought that it was just fatigue or burnout," she revealed. "But no - Lyme disease commonly affects the nerves. When I discovered a glimpse of hope, I ran with that."
After undergoing throat surgery and strengthening her vocal cords, Twain has been making a triumphant comeback in recent years, releasing her fifth album Now in 2017, headlining a tour the following year, and launching her Let's Go! Las Vegas residency last December (19).
