Rocker Kathleen Hanna has urged her fellow U.S. musicians to sign up for health insurance after her battle with Lyme disease left her unable to perform.

The former Bikini Kill frontwoman fell ill with the tick-borne disease in the mid-2000s but it took six years for medics to diagnose her condition correctly.

She became so unwell she could barely function and found it impossible to pursue any musical projects, and with a $200,000 (£133,000) bill for her treatment, it was only her medical insurance that saved her from losing everything.

Hanna, who has been in remission from the disease for ten months, is now advising all American rockers to make sure they are covered in case of illness.

She tells NME magazine, "When I was in (side project) Le Tigre, one of the best things we ever did was play a benefit for two nights at (New York's) Irving Plaza so we could buy ourselves health insurance. I would encourage bands to do that. If I didn't have it, I'd be up s**t creek. If I was a single mum with a kid... that's the kind of s**t that keeps me up at night."