Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Nick Cannon Has “Like A Lupus Type Of Thing”

A photo of Nick Cannon

Poor Nick Cannon. This fella has not had a real great start to 2012, not by any means. First he was hospitalized for “mild kidney failure,” whatever that means (I guess his kidneys weren’t so much like “omg omg omg, we are dying right this very second’ and more like “hey, dude, we’re just gonna take a break for a minute, we cool?”), and then last month he was hospitalized again with blood clots in his lungs. All in all, I’d say he’s had better times.

But now Nick is saying that all of his recent health problems have been attributed to some sort of autoimmune disease. Tough luck, Nick.

From People:

Nick Cannon is opening up about his ongoing health problems that came to light after he was hospitalized for kidney failure in January and then hospitalized again, weeks later, with blood clots in his lungs.

“The blood clot thing was probably the scariest because … I’ve known people who have passed away from that,” he told PEOPLE at New York’s Teqa Restaurant and Tequila Bar, where he was deejaying an event Wednesday night.

“I thought I was getting better,” said Cannon, 31, “and then that happened, so that kind of came out of nowhere.”

Cannon, who stepped down from his New York-based radio show in February to continue his recovery, said doctors have told him his kidney condition is “something I’m going to be living with all my life.”

“I’m just trying to make sure I put my health first,” he told PEOPLE, adding that he tries to get six hours of sleep a night and has been taking it easy at home.

He also revealed that the kidney disease was a result of an “autoimmune disease that [doctors] found in my system,” and his blood clots were directly connected to his kidney infection.

“It’s a lot of stuff,” said Cannon, “but it’s all in order now.”

When asked by PEOPLE if his condition was hereditary, Cannon said, “They kind of say [my] autoimmune [disease] is – like a lupus type of thing, but no one else in my family has it.”

For now, Cannon is just focusing on getting better – as well as on his young family with wife Mariah Carey.

“I feel blessed to be alive,” Cannon said. “If it wasn’t discovered, I don’t know [what would have happened].”

If Nick Cannon has “like a lupus type of thing,” then based on my extensive medical knowledge that I gained from watching nothing but the first five seasons of House for about four months in 2010, that means that a lot of really scary but really vague things are wrong with his body. I think it also means that you take a shot, but that’s only if you’re playing the drinking game* at home.

Get well soon, Nick! Or at least get this under control, you got dem babies to think about!

*Yeah, the House drinking game was popular during my senior year of college. It started out with reasonable rules, but then it quickly disintegrated into things like “drink every time House takes a pill!” or “drink everytime House limps!” or “let’s just go lay in the grass.” It was super fun, I definitely recommend it.

7 CommentsLeave a comment

  • If it is lupus or something like it, it’s a very nasty autoimmune disease; basically the white blood cells attack healthy organs and tissue. Very nasty disease. No known cause (that I’ve heard), no cure. Hard to diagnose because it mimics a bunch of other stuff (at least the SLE version does), and kidney failure is a pretty big risk.

    Get it under control is a better way to say it, but even then it’s tough to do. Sometimes it’ll flare up for no discernible reason and wreak all sorts of havoc, sometimes it won’t show for months at a time.

  • As someone who.has had lupus for 12 years now I can say that it is not an easy thing to live with. It can cause many troubles like arthritis organ failure hair loss ….the list goes on. The only treatment is medication. There is no cure. There is no reason why one person gets it and another doesn’t. The doctors still don’t know.if its genetic. The best thing anyone can do is listen to their body and keep in touch with their doctor.

  • I have Lupus, when I tell people, they almost always quote Dr. House “It’s never lupus.” Then I punch them in the face…

  • Auto-immune diseases-lupus being the worst, although rheumatoid arthritis is a close second-occur because the person’s immune system turns on itself. Sufferers of diseases like lupus, especially those exhibiting symptoms (Nick is actively exhibiting symptoms-remember kidney failure back in December?) must commit to a chronic regimen of meds with dangerous side effects to suppress the immune system and control the symptoms. Then given the induced state of impaired immunity, the person has to be hyper-vigilant about exposure to infections; e.g. those twins are little petri dishes, I’m sure.
    The good news is that there are new very-high tech (expensive!, but he has the money) drugs out for lupus (and RA, and many other auto-immune diseases) that are much better in terms of controlling symptoms and minimizing side effects.
    If Nick-and Mariah-play their cards right, Nick can rally back to a decent “normal” and continue to live a happy and fulfilling life.
    More good news: research is always grinding forward on this front, so it could be a long life, too.
    I wish them both well. (PS-I’m a retired pharmacist, my mom had RA..)

  • Omg. Nick cannon I wish u d best, u will always be in my prayers. I hope ur wife will just take it easy an keep praying. Prayer do work. I know that sickness is very struggling to u an ur family but just keep going to ur doctor ,taking ur medication an just relax. No need to murma ,no need to stress just leave everyting in gods hand.

  • No need to worry, no need to fret. Nick cannon jesus neva fail us yet. Our prayers r with u. Right Now I’m just crying,,,, cuz I know it could happen or it can happen to anyone of us. Everyone has a sickness on this earth , even babys born wit sickness so I guess sickness is here for all of us. Nick and mariah don’t stress ur self some people out dere have bigger problem than that ,an they r jus taking “a rough life easy” so ur not d worse. keep eating healthy ,do some exercise and jus read yuh bible. Nick I hope u read dis. Plzzzzzzzzzz. Bye.