French singer and model Carla Bruni revealed Wednesday that she had fought off breast cancer as she called on women to get regular screenings in an Instagram post.

"Four years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer," said the former first lady, who is married to ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, using sign cards in the video.

She said she went through surgery, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy.

"I was lucky: the cancer was not yet aggressive," she said, adding that it was caught early because she went for breast cancer checks on the same day each year.

Bruni said she had long been reluctant to speak about her health but wanted to encourage women to get regular checks as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Without them "I would not have a left breast today," she said.