Aretha Franklin 'feeling great' since surgery

Aretha Franklin says she's "feeling great and coming along" following surgery in early December, but the Queen of Soul was elusive in discussing her general health with U.S. magazine Jet.

The 68-year-old Franklin has spoken to Jet several times since she first announced in November that she was cancelling all engagements until May 2011.

According to a story the magazine posted online Thursday, Franklin recounted that she was first alerted to health issues when she felt "a very hard pain in my side" during a concert in Toronto. She performed at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall in November 2009.

Franklin said she knew "there was a problem" and pushed through a series of tests that ultimately uncovered her medical issue.

She released a statement in early December that said her surgery at a Detroit hospital was "highly successful."

However, the intensely private singer also acknowledged to Jet her reticence in discussing her private life and refused to talk about media reports that she was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

"I am not one to do a lot of talking about my personal health or business," she said.

"I don't have to talk about my health with anybody other than my doctors. The problem has been resolved."