Lifestyle Health Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch Reveals Emergency Surgery That 'Saved My Life' The band announced the cancellation of two festival dates less than a week before the revelation By Brenton Blanchet Brenton Blanchet Brenton Blanchet is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. He has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Brenton's work has previously appeared in Billboard, Pigeons & Planes and Complex. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 28, 2023 10:35AM EDT Florence Welch at Cannes Lions 2023 at Spotify Beach. Photo: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Florence Welch has underwent a serious surgery that led to the cancellation of two performances. The leading vocalist of Grammy-winning group Florence and the Machine announced on Instagram Sunday the reason why she had to cancel two festival performances this past week — because of an emergency surgery that she said "saved my life." Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch Marks 7 Years of Sobriety "I’m so sorry that I had to cancel the last couple of shows. My feet are fine, I had to have emergency surgery for reasons I don’t really feel strong enough to go into yet, but it saved my life," the singer, 37, wrote, months after revealing a foot injury in November. "And I will be back to close out the Dance Fever tour in Lisbon and Malaga. (Maybe not jumping so much but you can do that for me)." "Suffice to say I wish the songs were less accurate in their predictions. But creativity is a way of coping, mythology is way of making sense," she added. "And the dark fairytale of Dance Fever, with all its strange prophecies, will provide me with much needed strength and catharsis right now." Florence Welch Receives a Fake 'Bloody Severed Hand' Onstage, Jokes That She'll 'Eat This Later' Just last week, Welch's band announced the cancellation of two festival dates that were in support of the group's 2022 LP Dance Fever. The gigs at Zurich Open Air Festival and Rock En Seine were both set for late August, and the Instagram Story announcement noted that the postponement was a result of "medical advice." Welch previously suffered a foot injury last November and had to cancel shows then as well, letting fans know on Instagram that "after an X ray it seems I was dancing on a broken foot last night." "It is not in my nature to postpone a show, and certainly not a UK tour, but I’m in pain and as dancers know, dancing on an injury is not a good idea. And have been told not to perform to avoid further damage," the singer revealed."I’m heartbroken as the Dance Fever tour has been my favorite show we have ever put on. The communion with you. Your beautiful faces shining," she continued. "I love you so much, and I’m so sorry to anyone who is disappointed. My heart is aching. I can’t wait to be back on my feet and back in your arms." Florence Welch Teases Cover of No Doubt's 'Just a Girl' for 'Yellowjackets' Season 2 Florence Welch performs in London in January 2023. Jim Dyson/Getty Welch has long been open about her health, too. In July 2022, she caught up with Munroe Bergdorf on the Spotify podcast The Way We Are about how her choice to stop drinking when she realized alcohol was a problem for her around the band's 2011 LP, Ceremonials. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "In terms of navigating being in the public eye, I think sobriety is the best thing I ever did," she said. "It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I had a problem with drinking because I was one of those drinkers where [it was all or nothing]," Welch explained at the time. "If I enjoy my drinking, I can't control it and if I control my drinking, I don't enjoy it. That was a real wake-up call for me."