Selena Gomez has been living with lupus, an autoimmune disease, for more than a decade. Over the years, the Only Murders in the Building star, 31, has been candid about her experience with the chronic illness, from undergoing a kidney transplant and chemotherapy to how it’s impacted her mental health.
The “Single Soon” singer has used her public platform to raise awareness and educate her fans about lupus, which causes your body’s immune system to attack your own tissues and organs and can cause painful inflammation and swelling, per the Mayo Clinic. The inflammation can affect many systems throughout the body, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and even the lungs. While there is no known cure for lupus, there are a variety of treatments patients can undergo, per the Mayo Clinic.
And while Selena may be the first person you think of with this health condition, 1.5 million Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have a form of lupus, The Lupus Foundation of America estimates.
Ahead, here’s everything Selena has shared about her lupus diagnosis and health journey with the autoimmune disease:
Selena was diagnosed with lupus in 2013.
In her October 2015 cover story with Billboard, Selena first revealed her lupus diagnosis. “I was diagnosed with lupus, and I’ve been through chemotherapy. That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke,” she told the publication of her time spent out of the spotlight (which sparked rumors about her being admitted to a rehabilitation facility for addiction). “I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy… I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”
A year later, in April 2016, Selena further opened up about this difficult time in her life during a cover story interview with GQ, which stated that she’d been diagnosed in 2013. “I got diagnosed with lupus. My mom had a very public miscarriage. So I had to cancel my tour. I needed time to just be okay,” she told the magazine.
