After taking home a string of awards at this year’s Billboard Music Awards, platinum-selling rapper and singer Doja Cat has canceled her much-anticipated summer tour to tackle health issues in her throat.
The 26-year-old “Kiss Me More” artist announced on Twitter that she had to undergo surgery to remove an abscess in her tonsil before revealing the tour cancellation news to her fans in a series of tweets.
“Hi guys. I wanted you to hear it from me first. Unfortunately, I have to have surgery on my tonsils asap. The surgery is routine but the recovery is going to take a while due to swelling. That means I have to cancel my festival run this summer as well as The Weeknd tour,” the singer wrote in a statement. “I feel horrible about this but can’t wait for this to heal and get back to making music and create an experience for y’all.”
Tonsil cysts, like the ones Doja has, are lumps on one or both of the tonsils. The tonsils are two masses of soft tissue at the back of the throat. When cysts form there, they may not cause symptoms or be noticeable. A person may only feel the presence of larger cysts. These cysts are usually not a cause for concern.
A person might not know that they have a tonsil cyst until a healthcare professional finds it while examining the area for other reasons.
Tonsil cysts do not usually cause symptoms and grow slowly.
However, a lump on the tonsils can result from more serious issues. Anyone with a growth on their tonsils should see their primary care physician. A larger cyst may feel like a foreign object in the back of the throat and cause difficulty swallowing.
Other symptoms may include:
- pain
- an earache
- a dry cough
Is It Tonsil cancer?
This is a type of oropharyngeal cancer, which is cancer that begins in the mouth or throat. Cells grow too quickly and form one or more tumors.
According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, more than 54,000 adults in the country receive a diagnosis of oral or oropharyngeal cancer each year.
Symptoms
A person with tonsil cancer may have:
- a sore in the mouth that doesn’t heal
- red or white patches on the affected tonsil
- mouth pain or bleeding
- an earache
- bad breath
- changes in speech
- unexplained weight loss
- fatigue
- a new mass or lump on the neck
Leading up to the announcement, the “Say So” singer told her over 23 Million fans that she forgot that she was taking antibiotics to aid a tonsil infection while at this year’s Billboard Music Awards, where she drank wine and vaped “all day long.”
The Grammy-award-winning artist went on to share that while she is addicted to vaping, she believes with the right discipline, she could cut her use of it sometime in the near future.
“I’m addicted but I’m not weak,” she wrote. “I was literally staring at my vape today that normally I’d hit a thousand times a day and hit it two times instead. I’ma try to go cold turkey for now but hopefully, my brain doesn’t need it at all by then.”
Vaping Side Effects
Vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it’s still not safe. E-cigarettes heat nicotine (extracted from tobacco), flavorings and other chemicals to create an aerosol that you inhale. The aerosol from e-cigarettes can contain harmful chemicals, including nicotine; ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; flavoring such diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease; volatile organic compounds such as benzene, which is found in car exhaust; and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead.
An FDA analysis of e-cigarettes from two leading brands found that the samples contained carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals, including diethylene glycol, which is found in antifreeze. These chemicals are dangers for both adolescents and adults.
A report from Greek researchers found that using e-cigarettes caused breathing difficulties in both smokers and non-smokers of all ages.
As of September 2019, 530 cases of lung injury and seven deaths due to vaping have been reported in the U.S. Symptoms of vaping-related lung injury include:
- Rapid onset of coughing
- Breathing difficulties
- Weight loss
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
Physicians have attributed these symptoms to a buildup of oil and/or white blood cells in the lungs. THC and CBD, another active ingredient in cannabis, are heated up as oil in vape pens before being converted to vapor to smoke.