A long-term medical condition is often refered to as a chronic !llness. This form of !llness requires treatment and management over a long period of time, usually years.
Arthritis and diabetes often seen as the popular ones, but there are a whole host of others which have been given more attention in recent years because a celebrity has publicly disclosed having it.
Here are some female celebrities who have publicly spoken about their chronic health conditions;
Venus Williams: Sjogren’s syndrome
Venus Williams is a tennis superstar and sister to the serial champion Serena Williams.
In 2011 she revealed she had the autoimmune syndrome Sjogren’s in 2011. A condition that affects the parts of the body that produce fluids like tears and spit, often leaving the patient experiencing dry eyes, dry mouth, tiredness and joint pain.
The athelete pulled out of the US open in 2011 because of the condition, however she soon returned to the sport engaging in several other competitions.
Bella Hadid: Lyme Dise@se
Lyme Dise@se is caused by a tick’s bite. Late awareness to the disease could cause long-lasting symptoms like pain in the joints, problems affecting the nervous system, extreme fatigue and heart problems.
Bella’s mother Yolanda, who also has the dise@se, revealed her daughter had it in 2015. The model later told Porter magazine it once got so bad she couldn’t get out of bed for six days.
Selena Gomez: Lupus
Selena Gomez in 2015 revealed she had been diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune condition which causes rashes, fatigue and joint pain. The singer had to get chemotherapy done for it.
“That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke. I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re a$$holes.'” She told billboard after certain people thought she was s!ck because she was addict.
The complications from lupus continued for Selena with her eventually needing a kidney transplant, which she got from her friend Francia Raisa in 2017.
Pink: Asthma
She has often spoken about the condition, being a part of over 262 people who suffer from the condition.
Asthma is a condition that affects the passages in the lungs. The lungs become narrow due to inflammation and tightened muscles.
In 2020 Pink posted on Instagram when masks were introduced as a cautionary measure to reduce the spread of the virus, Pink wrote: “I have asthma and I’m wearing TWO masks! I’m breathing fine and I’m not a selfish id!ot! WEAR A MASK ITS NOT THAT HARD.”
Halsey: Endometriosis
Singer Halsey is one of many women who suffer from Endometriosis. Speaking about it on Twitter a few years back, she shared how she felt about the diagnosis: “Finding out that I had [endometriosis] was the most bittersweet moment because it meant I wasn’t crazy! I wasn’t a ‘baby!’ I had every right to be feeling like the world was caving in. But it was terrifying to find out.”
“Please know you’re not alone,” she told fans going through the same thing.
Halle Berry: Diabetes
One thing fans might not know about Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry is that she has type 1 diabetes. The chronic illness means that your body cannot produce enough of the hormone insulin, which controls blood glucose, and so your blood sugar levels can become too high.
After being diagnosed with diabetes in her early 20s, when she fell into a diabetic coma while filming the television series Living Dolls, Halle has managed it ever since.
Lady Gaga: Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain all over the body, and someone suffering with it may also experience extreme tiredness, muscle stiffness, trouble concentrating and problems sleeping.
According to the NHS, it tends to affect women seven times more than men. There is no cure but symptoms can be relieved through medication, therapy and lifestyle changes.
Lady Gaga opened up about her experience with the illness for the first time in her 2017 Netflix documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two. She was also forced to cancel a concert in Brazil because she was taken to hospital with “severe pain”.
Kim Kardashian-West: Psoriasis
Awareness was definitely raised about psoriasis when it was revealed one of the most photographed women in the world has it.
After initially freaking out over the the skin condition in an old episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian has since adopted a more serene approach, saying she doesn’t even try to cover it up anymore.
“I’m always hoping for a cure, of course, but in the meantime, I’m learning to just accept it as part of who I am,” Kim wrote on her website.
Sia: Gr@ves’ Dise@se
Sia is renowned for keeping much of her life private, but despite that she has publicly confirmed that she suffers from thyroid condition Graves’ dise@se. Back in 2010, the singer/songwriter posted on Twitter about her diagnosis, saying: “I’m not crazy! I have gr@ves dise@se! the shakes, the nerves. THE CR@ZY!! goodbye thyroid. i will k!ll you with radioactivity.”
Graves’ dise@se is an autoimmune disorder that causes an overactive thyroid, because your immune system att@cks the thyroid and causes it to make more of the hormone than your body needs. The condition can cause shaky hands, a fast and and irregular heartbeat, irritability or nervousness, tiredness, and muscle weakness.
Sarah Hyland: Kidney Dysplasia
Kidney dysplasia is a condition from birth where the kidneys have not developed properly when the baby was in the womb. The Modern Family star told Seventeen in 2015: “I was born with so many health issues that doctors told my mother I would never have a normal life” and my mum said, ‘You’re right, she won’t but it won’t be because of her health.”
Hyland had a kidney transplant in 2012 at the age of 21 which was donated from her father. In 2017, she hit back at people criticising her for losing weight on social media, telling them it was because of her health issues.
Regardless of their different illnesses and backlashes from fans and critics, these women have broken and established their names in the history of mankind with their various achievements. So what exactly is your excuse?