An actor’s battle for survival

Lisa Ray talks about the ailment, taboos and taking a stand in the face of societal pressures.

Actor-model Lisa Ray’s life is nothing short of a ray of sunshine. Having survived cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2009, she recently shared her journey of resilience at an event dedicated to women who have battled with cancer, reported the Times of India.

Ray said she finds questions about cancer interesting. “I never get tired of them. For me, it’s very energising. I have a philosophy of ‘pay it forward’ because so many people helped me when I was going through cancer. When I asked them what I could do in return, they told me to pay it forward,” she said. “So, I use the platform that I have to talk about cancer and share my story.”

Of her own experience fighting cancer, she shares she was advised not to go public about her illness. “My management felt I shouldn’t go public about my condition because they were trying to protect my career. The common practice for someone in my business is to go underground,” she stated. “First, you recover and maybe then, you go public about it. You don’t go public while you’re starting your treatment because that has repercussions.”

Ray decided to take a stand for herself even before chemotherapy. She said, “There is a sense of accomplishment in defying society’s rules and that is why I got rid of my hair twice before my chemotherapy started. It was my way of telling society that I would define myself, not you.”

Talking about cancer as a taboo in India, she lamented, “In India, people tend to be superstitious. Some think that being sick means they deserved it and it is part of their karma. They feel ashamed and hide it. I find this disturbing, because that is no way to heal.” She added, “Cancer is an opportunity to live. So, I hope that people who’re diagnosed with it will be able to overcome these issues and that’s why we have to keep talking about it constantly.”



Ray acknowledges that the word ‘cancer’ has a level of fear attached to it and that when people hear the word, they immediately think ‘death sentence’. She attributes the way people view cancer to how it is projected in the media, movies and popular culture, and feels it’s imperative to seek accurate information about the ailment. “People also know the treatment is not easy. You’re going to change physically, get very weak and lose your hair. I think this adds to the fear.”

During her treatment, she received immense support and decided to use her celebrity status to spread awareness. “I got a lot of support after I went public,”she said. “People paid attention when I wrote my blog and I used the platform to announce my diagnosis. That is when I felt I should use the attention to talk about something that’s important to me and spread awareness about my particular kind of cancer.” On how she currently feels, she said, “I’m constantly on medication. It is a new ‘normal’ for me. I think it’s partly mind-over-matter and partly because I take good care of myself. Cancer has changed my life and I actually owe a lot to it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March  19^th,  2015.

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