Morrissey says he has been treated for cancer and hinted he might be ready to retire from music.

The former Smiths frontman cancelled a string of US gigs this year and has already revealed he had been treated for a condition which in rare cases can lead to cancer.

In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo, he said: "They have scraped cancerous tissues from me four times already, but who cares. If I die, then I die. And if not, then I don't. Right now I feel good. I am aware that in recent photos I look unwell, but that is what illness does. I'm not going to worry about that, I'll rest when I'm dead."

The singer, currently on tour in Europe, started writing a novel after the unexpected success of his memoirs and said the book was coming along well and suggested he might become a full-time writer.

He said: " It will probably be published next year and with luck I will be able to stop singing forever, which would make many people happy."

The star recently u nveiled an unlikely collaboration with former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson when he appeared alongside the actress - who famously posed naked for Playboy - in a promotional video to promote his new album.

The pair, who are both ardent animal rights campaigners, appear in the short film which was shot on the roof of the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles, taking in the view over Hollywood at Sunset.

In June, he was forced to cancel the remainder of his US tour after collapsing and being taken to hospital.

The singer announced the end of the tour, including his scheduled June 21 date with Sir Cliff Richard in New York, with "unimaginable sorrow".

A message posted on True To You, a popular Morrissey fan site used for his official announcements, said he collapsed after his show in Boston after catching "a horrendous cold" from his support act.

It is not the first time ill-health forced him from the stage.

Last year he cancelled a string of US dates after suffering a bleeding ulcer, Barrett's oesophagus and double pneumonia.