Melissa Etheridge says she's `fully recovered' from cancer

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Melissa Etheridge is jumping back into recording and performing after spending much of the last year fighting breast cancer. <br/><br/>The 44-year-old rocker has appearances booked for

Thursday, August 4th 2005, 1:21 pm

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Melissa Etheridge is jumping back into recording and performing after spending much of the last year fighting breast cancer.

The 44-year-old rocker has appearances booked for October, when her greatest hits collection ``The Road Less Traveled'' is due for release.

``I would say I'm 97 percent back now,'' Etheridge told AP Radio in an interview. ``It is very hard. ... Chemotherapy is so hard on a person. And I would say I'm fully recovered, yeah.''

Etheridge took to the stage with a shaved head but strong voice at the Grammy Awards in February for a Janis Joplin tribute _ and received a standing ovation.

In an interview that aired Wednesday on syndicated TV show ``Extra,'' Etheridge said she and actress Tammy Lynn Michaels, who held a commitment ceremony in September 2003, are considering having a baby.

Etheridge shares custody of a daughter and a son with former partner Julie Cypher, who had the children through artificial insemination using a sperm donation from rocker David Crosby.

``We won't be using my friend,'' the singer told ``Extra.'' ``David has been there and done that.''

Etheridge won a 1992 Grammy for best female rock vocal performance for ``Ain't It Heavy'' and a 1994 Grammy in the same category for ``Come to My Window.''