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> Toni Braxton has lupus, the singer revealed November 16th, while accepting a "Woman in Achievement" award at the 8th Annual Lupus LA Bag Ladies Luncheon. She told the audience, "Today I'm going to talk about it because I'm a survivor and I'm here, and I don't want to lose hope."
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> "Take a look -- this is what lupus looks like," she said. Toni later tweeted that revealing her struggle with the disease was "a big moment for me. It was a tough decision to come out about it. But it was such a relief!".
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> Lady Gaga bought advertising space in support of the event and wrote a touching message in the program, "Toni, your strength is admirable. As a woman whose family has been affected by lupus, I understand your struggle and have you in my thoughts.". Gaga showed other celebrities that not only was it okay to disclose you have lupus but that you also get significant press coverage and it can benefit your career. The lupus coverage for Gaga was something I haven't seen before or since and she has single handedly in my opinion had such an impact on putting lupus in the spotlight in 2010. And its a family commitment. In Lupus Now Fall 2010 issue there was an article abut the NewYork City Butterfly Gala and there is a picture of Lady Gaga's parents attending the event. The tagline does not mention Gags, just simply Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta. There anonymity really impresses me since most people do jot know Lady Gaga's birth name. Snoop Dog also had such an outpouring of support and now Toni. Toni mentioned in her speech that she faced a great deal of pressure throughout her career to keep her health problems a secret.
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> I was't a big Toni Braxton fan before hearing she has lupus. I knew she filed for bankruptcy twice and that she has had heart issues. Ends up she suffers from pericarditis, an inflammation of the heart lining that is common in lupus.
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> I didn't watch her on Dancing With the Stars or hear about her benign tumor in her breast until after her lupus announcement. I learned she has two little boys and is going through a divorce from the children's father. One of her children has autism and she is active in autism causes. Even though I wasn't a fan, I kept an open mind because it is important to me to support celebrities who are brave enough to disclose their disease and put a face to lupus. So I checked her out on You Tube and was pleasantly surprised. I had forgotten how incredible her voice is and she is absolutely gorgeous. There are some clips where it looks like she has a little moon face probably from prednisone but she maintains such a gorgeous figure which all lupies know is pretty much impossible on prednisone. I LOVE her song off her latest album Yesterday with Trey Songz. I bought the video so I am going to try to upload it but no promises. Technical skills is not one of my gifts . But nonetheless, support our fellow lupies and borderline lupies by visiting their websites and check out their videos. www.tonibraxton.com and www. ladygaga.com
> Toni is supposedly getting her own reality show on Bravo with her sisters who are just as beautiful as Toni. It should be a great success and has the potential to really show the reality of living with lupus.
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> So Toni lands a new show after her last album flopped and Dancing with Stars didn't revive her career? Everything changed after her announcement she has lupus, she began garnering a lot of attention leading to these new opportunities. How awesome, see, Lupus can be good for your career . Thank you for your bravery Toni and keep fighting fierce!