Amy Schumer goes public with Cushing syndrome diagnosis

Amy Schumer, who has recently contended with internet trolls making fun of her facial puffiness caused by disease, says she has since learned she suffers from exogenous Cushing syndrome.

Some varieties of the disease “can be fatal, require brain surgery or removal of adrenal glands,” the Rockville Centre-raised comedy star explained Friday on News Not Noise, the newsletter of former CNN chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin. Schumer, 42, said that while appearing on camera promoting season 2 of her Hulu seriocomedy, “Life & Beth,” she “was also in MRI machines four hours at a time, having my veins shut down from the amount of blood drawn and thinking I may not be around to see my son grow up.”

Schumer, who has a 4-year-old child with her celebrity chef husband, Chris Fischer, said she was relieved to learn, “I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I'm healthy,” calling this “the greatest news imaginable. It has been a crazy couple weeks for me and my family. Aside from fears about my health, I also had to be on camera having the internet chime in. But thank God for that. Because that's how I realized something was wrong.”

The Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee went public, she said, because, “The shaming and criticism of our ever-changing bodies is something I have dealt with and witnessed for a long time. I want so much for women to love themselves and be relentless when fighting for their own health in a system that usually doesn't believe them. … I am extremely privileged to have the resources I have for my health and I know it's not that way for most people. I am grateful and want to use my voice to continue to fight for women.”

Cushing syndrome, also called Cushing’s syndrome, can result from overproduction of the hormone cortisol — either by the adrenal glands or from medical treatment involving glucocorticoids, a type of steroid hormone. “Exogenous” means caused by something outside the body, rather than something within (“endogenous”). One of several common symptoms of Cushing is weight gain, particularly in the face.

On Feb. 15, Schumer responded on Instagram to internet trolls mocking her facial puffiness, writing sardonically, “I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you’re right it is puffier than normal right now. I have endometriosis an auto immune disease that every woman should read about. There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay.”

Endometriosis, from which Schumer has suffered for years, is a chronic disease in which tissue that is normally inside the uterus grows outside it. In 2021, she underwent surgery to have her uterus and appendix removed. Three years earlier, a pregnant Schumer was hospitalized due to a severe case of the nausea-inducing condition hyperemesis.

In her comments to Yellin, Schumer pointed out “that this is a good example of the fact that we never know what is going on with someone. Everyone is struggling with something. Maybe we can all be a little kinder to each other and ourselves.”