R&B singer Nivea reveals leukemia diagnosis, says she's "grateful for life"

R&B singer Nivea, born Nivea B. Hamilton, revealed she was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year, sharing the news in a conversation with host Brian Freeman on the Atlanta-based series "Cadillac Chronicles." "I've been going through treatment, and everything is going great so far, and I expect it to continue," the 44-year-old said on the episode, which aired Tuesday.

"Cadillac Chronicles" typically features Freeman driving his 1974 Cadillac Eldorado with a musician riding along. Nivea used the format to perform some of her own catalog from the passenger seat, including her 2002 single "Don't Mess With My Man," which earned her a Grammy nomination in 2003.

The diagnosis hasn't slowed her professional plans. Nivea said she is working on new music and has enrolled in school for audio engineering, something she said she has "always wanted to learn." "I'm doing all the things I want to do," she said, describing her days as centered on "loving on my children, and just being grateful and taking every opportunity that comes my way."

Nivea was married to singer-songwriter and producer The-Dream from 2004 to 2008, and the two share three children: daughter Navy Talia, born in 2005, and twin sons London and Christian, born the following year. She also has a son, Neal, who performs as Lil Novi, with rapper Lil Wayne.

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood that starts in the bone marrow; Nivea did not say which type she has been diagnosed with. She described the diagnosis as reshaping her outlook rather than dimming it. "I'm very grateful for life," she said, adding that the diagnosis "helped me put a lot of things in perspective. I live in gratitude religiously."