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American singer has Toni Braxton spoken candidly about her 2008 lupus diagnosis, revealing how she was terrified that it might end her career.
This was largely down to the advice she was given at the time. After she found out she had the disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs, her management company advised her to keep it a secret because “people get scared around sick celebrities”.
“I was told to hide that I had lupus. Like, ’Don’t tell anyone’,” the Unbreak My Heart hitmaker recalls.
Toni (56) admits she hid her condition because she was ashamed and also scared that she wouldn’t get booked for gigs.
In 2010 she decided to go public about having the autoimmune condition and her worst fears were realised.
“I didn’t get work at first,” she says. “No one wanted to put me on a stage.”
The mother of two says that lupus is a very challenging disorder. It's what's known as "a silent disease" and she says she was living with symptoms for at least a decade before getting her diagnosis.
But in recent years it's become even more a struggle for her.
“I've had some serious health complications, including now it's starting to affect my kidneys,” Toni says.
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“My skin, my hair, my heart, my vital organs are starting to become affected."
As a result she's had to be more careful about how much she packs into her schedule.
“I love performing and touring but I know I can't do six to seven shows a week,” Toni says. “My body's not gonna let me do that, but I always try to find the silver lining. Maybe I can do two to three shows a week.”
Over the years she's had to make peace with the fact that she has the condition.
“I learned to embrace it. Once I started talking about having lupus, I found that it empowered me, and I wasn’t ashamed anymore, and I decided to advocate for myself and others,” she previously told Essence.
She says it's all about being willing to accept discomfort and step out of her comfort zone.
"It requires having tough conversations with yourself," she adds.
“I’ve learned I have to be honest with myself, and then I can have that uncomfortable conversation with my doctor, but if I’m not starting with me first, that’s just talk and excuses.”
SOURCES: PEOPLE.COM, CBSNEW.COM, ESSSENCE.COM
