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Selena Gomez Back On Track After Chemotherapy

By Val Powell
Published on: 19:21 PST, Oct 11, 2015

Selena Gomez is not letting her health condition get in her way as she gets back to work after having undergone chemotherapy in an attempt to cure the symptoms of lupus, an autoimmune disease.

The young singer continues to make music and carry on with her projects amid her battle with lupus. Gomez opened up about her illness in an interview with Billboard and admitted that she underwent chemotherapy during her break.

“I was diagnosed with lupus and I’ve been through chemotherapy,” Gomez said. Lupus is a life-threatening autoimmune disease that affects the way the body protects itself from bacteria and viruses. Because the immune system perceives its own cells as a foreign invader, it releases more antibodies that attack itself, which leads to inflammation and damage in the tissues. Lupus, like other autoimmune diseases, is rather rare and affects roughly 8 percent of the population, 78 percent of whom are women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed.

Scientists are not sure what makes women more susceptible to lupus but they assume hormones play a vital role. Heart disease and arthritis are just two of the many side effects of this disease. Affected people are also prone to any type of cancer like lymphoma, which is why Gomez and other lupus patients resort to chemotherapy; the procedure slows down the production of inflammatory cells. Lupus patients are also at risk of stroke once the immune system triggers blood clotting.

“That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke,” Gomez said, remembering the time she took a break from her work after her cancelled Australian and Asian tour back in December 2013.

Soon after Gomez cancelled her tour, many people have come up with speculations suggesting she was struggling with addiction.

The former Disney star admitted she was affected by the rumors saying: “I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re ass—–.’ I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”

After revealing that she has been battling lupus, Gomez became more open to talk about her disease. One Twitter follower asked her how she is handling the pain and Gomez tried to not conceal her real feelings about it.

“Have no choice but to just feel the pain… ask a million questions, pick yourself up and move forward. It sucks,” she honestly told the Twitter user.

She also told a fan, during a Twitter chat, that she has zero regrets “even if it’s sucked.”

Despite her health condition, Gomez is moving forward, and her new album Revival will be out on Friday. She said the hate from her detractors served as her inspiration to move on. On Friday, Gomez shared a new track and surprised her avid fans with news of a Revival world tour via Instagram. She said she will be going around U.S. and Canada starting May to July of next year.

The singer is working hard despite her life-threatening health issues because she does not want to be pitied.

“Selena also doesn’t want any special dispensation because of her lupus disease,” a source revealed. The insider added that Gomez wants to continue life “as if nothing happened” and she “doesn’t want people to feel sorry for her.”

The source went on to describe the young singer as “incredibly tough” and said: “Selena still wants to live independently and not have to rely on anyone to help her through this.”

By bringing her battle with lupus out in the open, Gomez hopes to shed more light on the complex disease and help others who are experiencing the same health problem.

[Image by David Buchan, Getty Images]

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