Etheridge Says She's Recovered From Cancer

LOS ANGELES – Melissa Etheridge (search) 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" (search) 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."