Now, the 25-year-old singer and actress recently revealed that she recent underwent a kidney transplant—which was donated by a close friend—due to her battle with the disease.
Just a few years ago, Selena Gomez revealed she underwent chemotherapy to treat her lupus, a disease in which your immune system attacks and destroys the healthy tissues in your body.
Now, the 25-year-old singer and actress recently revealed that she recent underwent a kidney transplant—which was donated by a close friend—due to her battle with the disease.
“I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of,” she wrote in the post.
“So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health.”
Gomez has always been outspoken about her struggles with lupus. She first opened up about it in a 2015 interview with Billboard. “I was diagnosed with [autoimmune disease] lupus, and I’ve been through chemotherapy,” she explained. “That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke.”
The autoimmune disease causes inflammation in your body, which can damage your joints, heart, kidneys, and brain, according to the Lupus Research Alliance.
(An autoimmune disease isn’t the only thing that can wreck your kidneys. The wrong workout, eating too much sugar, and drinking too much booze can also harm them.)
While lupus is overwhelmingly more common in women, the disease can develop in a small percentage of men, too, according to the Lupus Foundation of America.
Some of the most common symptoms include extreme fatigue, swollen joints, anaemia, and even hair loss. Of those living with lupus, 65 per cent list chronic pain as the most difficult aspect of the disease. Lupus currently has no cure, but can be controlled through medication.
“Lupus continues to be very misunderstood,” Gomez writes, “but progress is being made.”
Source: Men’s Health