Selena Gomez has spoken out on Instagram to revealthat she was forced to get a kidney transplant over the summer due to her ongoing battle with Lupus.

The 25-year-old actress first spoke out about her battle with the autoimmune disease in 2015 after she took time out of her career to seek treatment that involved a course of chemotherapy.

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Explaining that she was forced to take a step back from promoting her album over the summer, Selena said that now she is recovering, she wanted fans to know what's been going on in her private life. She also added that she will be revealing more about her recovery journey in the coming months.

Thanking her doctors and particularlyactress friend Francia Raisa for donating the kidney, she explained that she wants to she light on Lupus, which is still much misunderstood by the mainstream.

"I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of," Selena wrote.

"So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health. I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you. Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery.

"And finally, there aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa," she continues."She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis."

Urging fans to read up on the disease, she concluded: "Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made. For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org."

Selenahas been extremelycandid about all of her health issues over the past few years, becausewhile she has every right to keep things private, she says she wants her fans to know that it's ok to put yourself first and get the help you need, no matter whether you're dealing with physical or mental illness.