STOCKHOLM - It's been a year now since the fainting incident that brought Marie Fredriksson to the hospital…. a year that Marie has spent recovering from the concussion, the surgery to remove the tumor found in the back of her head, and undergoing the aggressive treatments used to fight cancer.

  As was to be expected, this recovery has taken some time, but Marie felt well enough at the end of January to attend a ceremony at the Royal Palace and accept an honorary medal from the King of Sweden. Since then, according to sources close to Marie, when she feels so inclined, she's been working on new material – using the recording studio in her home to lay down tracks. As readers of The Daily Roxette already know, she contributed back-up vocals for one on the songs on Per Gessle's "Mazarin" album.

  In February, Marie filed a libel lawsuit against Expressen, one of Sweden's major newspapers, for publishing a story that claimed she had an additional lump believed to be a tumor. "Expressen's information is totally untrue. We would, of course, not start a legal process if we weren't telling the truth ourselves," states Marie Dimberg, who is Marie Fredriksson's (and Roxette's) manager.

  "Marie's condition is, like Per Gessle sometimes says, 'not the flu.' She's undergoing the necessary standard procedures, all normal in cases like this," Dimberg tells TDR. "Sometimes she feels very good, and sometimes a bit worse, due to her treatment. The doctors say it's all like it should be."

  To those impatient for news about Marie's recovery, Dimberg tells us "It will take the time it takes, and we all have to be patient and support Marie - and not spread more rumors."