Amy Schumer has shared that she has been diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome.
According to the NHS, the uncommon condition is caused by having too much cortisol (the primary stress hormone) inside the body, and can be serious if left untreated. Symptoms can include weight gain and a red, puffy, rounded face.
Comedian and actor Schumer, 42, confirmed her diagnosis in journalist Jessica Yellin’s ‘News Not Noise’ newsletter yesterday (Friday, February 23).
The update came after fans began asking why she appeared to have a “puffier” face during recent interviews about the second season of her Hulu comedy-drama series Life & Beth.
Earlier this month, Schumer responded to “everyone’s input about [her] face” by saying: “There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay.”
Yellin confirmed in her latest newsletter: “I reached out to Amy after the haters came for her. She shared that she has exogenous Cushing syndrome, brought on by getting steroid injections in high doses.”
When asked how she was currently “feeling physically”, Schumer told Yellin that she felt “reborn” following her diagnosis.
“There are a few types of Cushing. Some that can be fatal, require brain surgery or removal of adrenal glands,” she explained.
“While I was doing press on camera for my Hulu show, I was also in MRI machines four hours at a time, having my veins shut down from the amount of blood drawn and thinking I may not be around to see my son grow up.”
Schumer continued: “So finding out I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I’m healthy was the greatest news imaginable. It has been a crazy couple [of] weeks for me and my family.
“Aside from fears about my health, I also had to be on camera having the internet chime in. But thank God for that. Because that’s how I realised something was wrong. Just like when I realised I had named my son something that didn’t sound so good. The internet is undefeated, as they say.”
Yellin then asked Schumer why she had decided to share such “personal medical information” publicly, and what she hoped people would take from it. In response, the comedian said she “wanted to advocate for women’s health”.
“The shaming and criticism of our ever-changing bodies is something I have dealt with and witnessed for a long time,” Schumer explained. “I want so much for women to love themselves and be relentless when fighting for their own health in a system that usually doesn’t believe them.”
She added that her diagnosis was “a good example of the fact that we never know what is going on with someone”, saying: “Everyone is struggling with something. Maybe we can all be a little kinder to each other and ourselves.”
Life & Beth season two is streaming on Hulu now.
In other news, last month saw Amy Schumer join Madonna on stage in New York for the ‘Vogue’ segment of her ‘Celebration Tour’ concert.
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