Singer Natalie Cole has hepatitis C.
She was diagnosed with the liver disease during a routine examination, her rep said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Doctors believe her drug use years ago played a factor. (In 1999, she told Ebony she once overdosed on heroin in a so-called “drug-den.”)
“I’ve been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences,” Cole, 58, said in the statement. “I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends.”
Although she is suffering from side effects (including fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration), her doctor said she has had a “terrific response to her medication and is now virus negative.”
“This gives her an increased chance of cure,” Dr. Graham Woolf, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA/Cedars Sinai Medical Center, said.
Said Cole: “I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination. This is how I intend to deal with this current challenge in my life.”
In February, Cole, the daughter of famed jazz musician Nat King Cole, slammed The Recording Academy for awarding Amy Winehouse five Grammys.
“It sends the wrong message, that even in the midst of her stupor of drugs she can get nominated for all these awards,” Cole said.
“I’ve been in this business over 25 years and I sacrificed five years of my own life on drugs and almost lost my life because of it,” Cole said. “So I take great offense to almost see someone getting glory out of being in the position that they’re in.”
