Lisa Ray Turns 46! Here's Why The Actress-Model is an Inspiration for People Living With Cancer

When Lisa Ray first blazed into the scene in the mid-nineties, starring in the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan video Afreen Afreen, we were captivated by her exotic beauty and stunning screen presence. Here is a collection of some of Lisa Ray's stunning pictures. Already a force to be reckoned in the Indian modelling industry, she soon became a household name after starring in more music videos and films, and hosting a talk show with fellow model Kelly Dorji. Things were looking up for the actress-model when her life came to a screeching halt in 2009 after she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cells.

She details her accounts of finding out that she had cancer, poignantly yet with humorously in her blog The Yellow Diaries. She writes that her bone marrow had already started sending her messages of cancer in the form of bodily symptoms: “I was always exhausted, pale, drained, and completely depleted of red blood cells. The lack of oxygen made me a serial yawner and spacier than a displaced Czarina. Little did I know, but my hemoglobin had fallen to levels where even a dedicated Blood sucker [sic] would turn their thoughts to revival. In between work and travel in India this year, I got a routine blood test and the results sent me to the hospital for a blood transfusion.”

She confessed that her busy lifestyle, building a career and travelling, made her oblivious to the needs of her own body. “So I couldn’t hear my marrow gently carbonating. Trying to get my attention. Instead of tuning in to [sic] my body, I tuned out like a landlocked pirate, tuning out the sounds of the sea,” she writes.

Despite the diagnosis, Lisa wasn’t the one to back down.  According to her blog, she was advised against going public about her health condition since it could negatively affect her career. But she defied all the warnings and chose to be open about her cancer.  She stayed upbeat and made media appearances, even when the effects of the chemotherapy and medication were clearly visible. “I can’t predict- but I can still perform torridly well and are looks really still that important in showbiz anyways? I have so much more to say now than ever before…,” she expresses eloquently in her blog.

She received a stem cell transplant in 2009 and revealed that she was the treatment was a success in 2010. Ever since then, she has been an advocate of stem cell technology and has been working tirelessly to create more public awareness about it. She is also very vocal about her support for women living with breast cancer and expressed concern about the stigma they face in certain sections of the society. After her recovery, she has been very involved in bringing the spotlight towards multiple myeloma through her “Make Myeloma Matter” media campaign.

However, since multiple myeloma is an incurable disease, Lisa confessed to The Indian Express in 2015 that she is still living with the condition. But the pluck and positivity with which the Polish-Bengali actress is fighting her condition deserves to be applauded. By calling cancer an agent of transformation in her life, Lisa has given hopes to millions of despondent patients around the world living with incurable conditions. On her birthday, we wish her a healthy and productive life. May she keep inspiring us.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2018 10:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).