[yoyoma]

^I found this article in regards to the scar on her chest:

V Buzz: People criticize you for showing the scar on your chest. What type of surgery is that from, and is the scar like a badge of honor for you now, kind of like Mary J. Blige's scar under the eye and Queen Latifah's scar on her forehead?

Star: It was a tumor in my chest. They had to crack my chest open in order to remove it. That's why you see that big long scar. It took me many, many years actually. When I was in the hospital I saw the scar for the first time. I can't believe that I am 44 years old and this happened 24 years ago, and I still see it and feel it painfully right now as I tell this story. The doctor wanted to remove the bandages and my mother was supposed to be there with me. She was down I think in the cafeteria after taking a break from sitting by my bedside, and my dad was with me. My dad said 'I'll stay here,' and the doctor said she may want her mom with her during this time because obviously, they knew what the scar looked like. My father said, 'No, no, no, Starlet,' and he and I are very close. So they removed the bandages and gave me a mirror and when I saw that scar down the center of my chest, I fell apart and literally went hysterical. I said, 'Daddy, no man is going to ever want to look at me again. I'm completely scarred for life.' And my father, in an attempt to be loving, he didn't comfort me, my father said, 'Baby, the way you're built, the brothers ain't looking at that scar.' And I remember thinking to myself, one day somebody is going to say, 'Baby I ain't looking at that scar.' And it took me many years to get to that. I used to decorate it with those stick-on jewel charms. I still will wear a necklace that obscures it, 'cause it's not the most attractive thing. But that scar saved my life. That man went in there and cracked my chest and took out a one-pound tumor that was literally choking the life out of me. I know sometimes people go, 'Why she got that scar out? She should wear clothes that are closed up.' The thought that someone once told me that I have nine months to live-that scar is evidence that they were wrong.

Source:The BV Buzz With Jawn Murray- June 30, 2006 - AOL Black Voices