Selena Gomez
Cast member Selena Gomez poses at the premiere of the film "Getaway" in Los Angeles, California August 26, 2013. The movie opens in the U.S. on August 30. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Selena Gomez shocked everyone when she revealed she underwent chemotherapy sometime back. Her fans were horrified to find out that she is using the same treatment that is more commonly meted out to cancer patients.

Dr. Joan Merrill, the medical director for the Lupus Foundation of America, told ABC News that the need for chemotherapy or any such “aggressive immune suppressant therapies,” arrises in Lupus patients when their internal organ becomes inflamed.

"What [chemotherapy drugs] do is they kill any of the cells in the body that are rapidly dividing," Merrill said, adding that in Lupus patients "the immune cells are rapidly dividing ... to create inflammation."

Merrill, who did not treat Gomez, has revealed that the medication used to treat Lupus patients during chemotherapy is not in “as high doses as cancer patients” but it still has the same side-effects such as nausea.

In a Billboard interview, Gomez revealed that she was actually quite disturbed when media came out with bizarre reports that she has had an addiction problem as she was undergoing chemotherapy for Lupus. The former Disney star revealed that she was diagnosed with Lupus and took break to undergo chemotherapy.

The disease was so dangerous that she might have had a stroke. But there were stories about her in the media which suggested she had undergone rehabilitation to curb her drug addiction.

“I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re a------.' I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again,” said the actress.

Gomez is also gearing up for the release of her new album, “Revival” which will release on Oct. 9. The magazine asked Gomez about her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, who too is going through similar changes in his career and is coming out with new album. However, the 23-year-old starlet was quick to credit her success to her own hard work.

"No. This is my time. I’ve deserved this. I earned it. This is all me."

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