Lance Bass Talks On Getting Diagnosed With Psoriatic Arthritis And Sensitizing People Of The Ailment

American musician, Lance Bass, has had a string of terrible luck when it comes to unusual illnesses. During training for a space project two decades ago, he was revealed to have cardiac arrhythmia and had to have heart surgery to repair it.

Years later, Bass began to have discomfort in his shoulders that left them feeling "like glass." After a series of visits to the hospital to determine what was wrong, he realized he had psoriatic arthritis and needed to begin treatment right away.

Bass has now spoken out about the ordeal, detailing the harrowing circumstances of his suffering and subsequent recovery, as well as why he felt obligated to make the news public.

In an interview with People, the 43-year-old revealed that he was first diagnosed with the condition back in 2017 after he had suffered the debilitating symptoms for a long time.

"I had symptoms before, but you know, I kind of just dealt with it, not knowing exactly what it was. I was a dancer my whole life, so I just kind of figured it was because of dancing," he told the news publication.

According to his statement, the musician detected areas of psoriasis on his scalp while suffering from agonizing joint problems. However, he did not consider the problem to be significant at the time and went on with his life, believing that the aches were caused by his routine dance activities.

"It definitely started in my shoulders and then in my knees," he added. "And again, to me, that was just such a sign of dancer pain, so I just thought it was completely normal, totally ignoring the signs."

Bass further explained why he was revealing the details of the diagnosis, saying being famous meant he had to share his life with the public.

"I've always been the type of person that was very open," Bass also revealed during the exclusive interview. "When I started with NSYNC, I was 16 years old, so all I've known is being in the public eye and sharing my life with everyone."

The singer then drew parallels between his ordeal and his not too long-ago revelation about being gay, adding that it further cemented his decision to come all out.

"Of course, I had a huge secret of being in the closet for years. So once I was able to come out and be myself, I really held nothing back," he added.

Bass has opted to focus on the good aspects of living with psoriatic arthritis, collaborating with Amgen on a new campaign aimed at raising awareness about the condition, including how to recognize the symptoms and the steps required to manage it and live a normal life.

"We had to do something fun to entertain people, and we do live in a TikTok world, so we created the Double Take campaign, which aims to empower people to recognize the potential early signs of psoriatic arthritis," Bass explained about the new project.

One of Bass's "favorite" choreographers, SJ Bleau, is assisting him with this effort. The two have collaborated on a dance routine that is not only entertaining but also helps people recognize the signs of the disease, reaching Bass' objective of raising awareness.

The singer has learned to live with the disease and has incorporated the essential medical procedures to assist in managing the aches that come with being a sufferer. For this, Bass expressed his gratitude about getting a diagnosis, as his drugs and healthy living allow him to properly fulfill the role of a father for his children.

"I'm glad I got that under control before the kids came so that I can actually hold them without being in such excruciating pain," he said.

Bass and his husband Michael Turchin have two children, Violet Betty and Alexander James. The couple received the children through a surrogate in October last year after experiencing multiple setbacks with previous surrogacy attempts before eventually succeeding with their final trial.