One said: 'She has been really touched by all the love and affection that has been coming her way.

'It gives her a lot of strength and happiness to know people are thinking of her.'

The star learned that the disease had returned in January during a regular check up. She has survived two bouts of breast cancer.

Cancer cells were discovered in her left armpit and the drugs she was given to treat them only made her condition worse.

In recent months doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her right kidney and bones.

Initially, her oncologist told her she had 'several useful years ahead'. But since then, her condition has deteriorated and her future is now uncertain.

She may have captured the viewers' hearts as the single mom with soul on American Idol's sixth season – but now LaKisha Jones's heart belongs to Houston financial adviser Larry Davis.

The two will marry Sunday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

"I'm very excited," Jones, 28, tells PEOPLE. “My [5-year-old] daughter Brionne is the flower girl, and she woke up this morning and said, 'We have [a few] days, Mommy, and then I can put on my dress!' "

Before an anticipated intimate gathering of family and friends, Jones will walk down the aisle amid a bridal theme of old-fashioned Hollywood glamour, in black and white.

"Rená Puebla is my planner," Jones says, "and she is based out of L.A., and she planned Oprah’s 50th birthday party. So everything we've done has been over the phone, over the Internet, over the mail, so I have never seen everything all together."

As such, she says, "I am hoping and praying it's going to be fabulous."

Bridal Outfit

When it comes to jewellery, rap stars just don’t do subtle...so when Jay-Z wanted a wedding ring for singer Beyonce Knowles, it was no surprise that he shunned the traditional gold band in favour of a stunning ?2.5million diamond.

But the seven-figure price tag will barely dent the bank balance of the 38-year-old musician, who last year earned an estimated ?41million.

The pair married in a secret ceremony in April this year – and Beyonce had initially taken great care not to be pictured with her rock, believed to be a flawless
18-carat diamond.

Beyonce has long been a fan of Schwartz’s jewellery and has regularly been seen on the red carpet decked out in her creations.

Other A-list celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera have also been seen wearing Schwartz earrings and her signature coloured diamonds.

Schwartz, who is based on New York’s exclusive Fifth Avenue, got her big break in 2002 when Halle Berry wore her jewellery to collect a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball.

Jewellers in London’s Hatton Garden diamond district confirmed the huge octagon-cut stone was a rarity.

Mohammed Cimark, who runs Precious Gems and Jewels, said: ‘If it is 18 carats then it’s a lovely size, an exceptional diamond. It’s clearly a premium stone.

‘You can’t recognise the colour from the photo and the clarity is hard to see, but the best clarity is internally flawless.

‘I would need to look at this through the magnifying glass to know if it was flawless – but it would be quite rare, especially with a diamond this size.’

Mr Cimark said he suspected the diamond could have been mined in Africa. ‘Most diamonds this size you would get in South Africa or Sierra Leone,’ he said. ‘That’s where you get the biggest diamonds.’

Jay-Z – who this year controversially became the first rapper to headline at the Glastonbury Festival – earns his fortune not only from live performances and album sales, but a diverse business empire, which extends to a hotel and clothing range. 

He was elsewhere while Beyonce enjoyed herself on the Miami beach, but she was joined by her 21-year-old sister Solange.

Mel C has asked her former Spice Girls bandmate Victoria Beckham to plan her wedding.

Pregnant Mel announced her engagement to boyfriend of six years, Thomas Starr last month
and the couple are set to wed in July 2009.

A source told Britain's Daily Star newspaper: "Mel and Victoria have become very close since the Spice Girls reunited last year. And she knows that Victoria has the contacts and the ideas to make her big day extra special."

Victoria, 34, has a good track record with high-profile weddings.

She previously offered her advice to actress Katie Holmes, who married Tom Cruise in 2006, and Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole who wed soccer player Ashley Cole the same year.

Victoria has already made inquiries at St Peter's church, near Liverpool, where Mel – full name Melanie Chisholme – comes from.

She is also said to have asked her fashion designer friend Roberto Cavalli to design the wedding gown.

Mel's other former bandmates – Emma Bunton, Mel B and Geri Halliwell – are also keen to get involved with the wedding.

The source added: "They're all keen to offer advice and assistance. But Mel doesn't feel close enough to the band to ask them to be bridesmaids or maids of honour.

"So she and Victoria have decided all the girls should be invited as guests, rather than giving them special roles."

Mel is expected to give birth in March.