Tisha Campbell is opening up about her sarcoidosis diagnosis and how she has managed her health over the years.
During a June 5 appearance on the Mibo Show podcast, hosted by former music executive Shanti Das, the 55-year-old Martin star shared that she has been in remission from the inflammatory disease for four years. "They can't find it at the base of my brain at all," she revealed during the live-taped episode at the Johnson & Johnson headquarters in New Brunswick, N.J.
Campbell, who has dealt with sarcoidosis for many years, first spoke about her condition in 2011, telling that she had been managing it well through diet and exercise. The Little Shop of Horrors actress admitted on the podcast that her disease made her fear getting sick, as "every cold took me to the hospital." However, she proudly noted that she hasn't fallen ill since her divorce from Duane Martin, joking that she hasn't been sick at all since then.
Campbell and Martin, who share two children, were married for over 20 years before announcing their split in February 2018. Their divorce was finalized in December 2020. "It’s been getting harder and harder for them for the last two years," a source told in 2018. "It’s one of those things where they’ve been talking about it and fighting it out and trying to come to a conscious uncoupling."
Reflecting on her initial diagnosis, Campbell recounted her experience while filming My Wife and Kids. She mistook her symptoms for a persistent cold and struggled to breathe, feeling like an elephant was on her chest. During a scene where she had to sing "Ease On Down the Road," she recalls the panic in her eyes visible on screen as she struggled to breathe.
Doctors later diagnosed her with stage one sarcoidosis in both lungs and at the base of her brain, causing her lymph nodes to swell and making it difficult to breathe. Sarcoidosis, according to the American Lung Association, occurs when granulomas, or tiny groups of inflamed tissue, form in various organs, especially the lungs, due to an overreactive immune system. The disease, which has four stages, disproportionately affects Black women, who are three times more likely to be diagnosed than White women.
Progressing to stage four of the disease frightened Campbell, especially after witnessing Bernie Mac's battle with it. She fought the disease using steroids, singing to exercise her lungs, and avoiding stress. "Stress is a killer," she emphasized. "It's connected to your body."
Campbell expressed pride in her current mental and physical health, acknowledging the importance of understanding the connection between the two. "I'm just telling y'all the freaking truth," she said. "Whether you have any type of disorder, it's important to do everything that's right."
She concluded by saying, "I am so proud of where I am in my mental health and my physical health now. Because I understood that they are a combination."
The Quran - Chapter Al-Qamar : 43 - 48
Now, are you ˹Meccan˺ disbelievers superior to those ˹destroyed peoples˺? Or have you ˹been granted˺ immunity ˹from punishment˺ in divine Books?
Or do they say, “We are all ˹a˺ united ˹front˺, bound to prevail.”?
˹Soon˺ their united front will be defeated and ˹forced to˺ flee.
Better yet, the Hour is their appointed time—and the Hour will be most catastrophic and most bitter.
Indeed, the wicked are ˹entrenched˺ in misguidance, and ˹are bound for˺ blazes.
On the Day they will be dragged into the Fire on their faces, ˹they will be told,˺ “Taste the touch of Hell!”
For those who refused to accept the Prophet Muhammad, there was a lesson in the fatal incidents which befell those who rejected the earlier prophets. But they did not learn from this.
This has been true of all the peoples. In spite of clear signs, every community has considered itself safe from God’s ire and therefore exempt from religious obligations.
Every community has indulged in the same arrogant behaviour as the previous communities, as a result of which they have had to suffer God’s retribution.
