In 2012, Nick Cannon was diagnosed with lupus nephritis, or lupus kidney disease. Lupus, specifically systemic lupus erythematosus, is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack the tissues and joints of the body often causing severe inflammation and pain. Most individuals experience chronic fatigue, swelling, intolerance to the sunlight and joint pain. Left undiagnosed or untreated, it can be deadly.
As reported by People, On Tuesday’s episode of his daytime talk show, Nick Cannon, he marked a decade since his diagnosis by sharing a video featuring footage that he recorded years ago.
“Ten years ago, I experienced a sudden and mysterious illness that almost took my life,” Cannon explained before beginning the video. “At the time, I had no idea it was lupus. And, you know me, I always have to have a camera on. So I would literally open up my phone, grab my camera and I would talk to the camera, and I documented the entire health journey.”
The video begins with a January 3, 2012 entry.
Prior to Cannon’s diagnosis he had been enjoying family time with his then-wife Mariah Carey and their twin children, Moroccan and Monroe. During the trip, Cannon experienced shortness of breath, edema (swelling) and joint pain. He was later diagnosed with kidney failure caused by lupus.
“How did I get here?” Cannon asks. “ I mean, just a few days ago I was with my family in the snow, playing, having a good time.” The video continues, “It’s the last place you wanna be, man. Doctors telling you you could die.”
“I have been diagnosed with lupus, and after a decade of close calls, blood transfusions, chemotherapy and hospitalizations, I continue to push through,” he says in a voiceover. “Throughout this journey, I had to change everything about the way I live my life, and it wasn’t easy.”
Cannon made the necessary mental, emotional, physical and dietary changes to improve his quality of life with the diagnosis. Cannon explains he takes it “day-by-day” and “laid a foundation both mentally and physically to build back the life that I had almost lost to this disease.”
