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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Natalie Cole hospitalized in Hepatitis C setback

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole has been hospitalized in New York after suffering a setback in her battle against Hepatitis C, her spokeswoman said on Friday.

Cole, the 58-year-old daughter of legendary singer Nat King Cole, has canceled her tour dates for October but is expected to make a full recovery, the spokeswoman told Reuters. Cole's unexpected hospitalization was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.

"She has had a setback and is in the hospital in New York. We expect her to make a full recovery. She will be in the hospital a few more days and then will be sent home for bed rest," the spokeswoman, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

She said Cole had postponed all her concert dates and other appearances scheduled for October.

Cole's manager declined to discuss her condition.

Cole announced in July she had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C and that she probably contracted the liver disease from drug use more than 30 years ago.

Her doctors said at the time she was responding well to treatment, including chemotherapy, but was suffering "significant side effects," including fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration.

The singer, whose father died of lung cancer when she was 15, documented her addiction to cocaine, heroin and alcohol in her 2000 autobiography "Angel On My Shoulder." She overcame her addictions after a lengthy stay in rehab in the early 1980s.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease that is often without symptoms and can cause inflammation of the liver, and in extreme cases, liver cancer. It is usually contracted through transfusions of unscreened blood, or by injecting or inhaling drugs.

Natalie Cole has won eight Grammys in a 30-year career singing jazz, pop and R&B and releasing hit albums such as "Everlasting" and "Unforgettable ... With Love," which featured her singing a duet with her late father via electronic technology.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Dan Whitcomb and Todd Eastham)




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