Selena Gómez grandfather, Don Ricardo Gómez, confirmed the rumors regarding the autoimmune disease that affects the singer, publicly saying that since two years ago, the former Disney girl has been in treatment to face said to face said disease.
Don Ricardo said that Selena is much better now, after undergoing treatment to fight the chronic rheumatic disease and said that he gave his granddaughter some advice and council during the time earlier this year when she was interned in a rehab center due to her consumption of alcohol and drugs.
"I saw in some newspaper that she has gone in due to problems with drugs. I called her and told her: 'Be careful...' She was working too much and she was exhausted. She practically didn't have any free time. She was under a lot of pressure, mainly from her work. She doesn't have a single day off and everyone has said it, even her agent and her doctor," said the artist's grandfather, according to E! Online.
Earlier this year, a report on Popdust quoted the singer's agents when they said that she was taking a break to spend more time by herself and face with lupus related health problems.
Other sources said that after Selena was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease a couple of years back and due to her tight schedule she suffered a lot of relapses, which consisted of episodes of facial swelling, extreme fatigue, headaches and pain in her joints.
According to Medical News Today, the most common type of lupus is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The causes for lupus are unknown, but many theories say its hereditary. The Office of Minority Health said that Hispanics are twice as likely to be diagnosed with this disease, with women being 90 percent of the diagnoses.
Other stars with said autoimmune disease include Toni Braxton, Lady Gaga and Nick Cannon. In 2011 and 2012, Nick Cannon was hospitalized due to complications with his lupus nephritis, according to The Examiner.
What You Should Know About Lupus
There are many types of lupus. The most common type is systemic lupus erythematosus, which affects a lot of the body. Anyone could have lupus, but in most cases it affects women. Lupus is most common among African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American women, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculosketetal and Skin Diseases.
Research shows that genes play an important role, but genes alone don't determine who suffers from lupus. There are probably many factors that contribute to the cause of this disease.