8 Celebrities who refuse to set back by Cancer: World Cancer Day
World Cancer Day is celebrated on February 4. On this special occasion, we remember all the celebrities who fought and won bravely the battle with cancer. It’s their spirit that inspires others to fight through the tragedies of life.
This year’s theme for World Cancer Day is “We can. I can.”.
Listed below are a few Indian celebrities who have defied cancer:
Yuvraj Singh
After winning the 2011 World Cup for India and being named the ‘Player of the Tournament’, Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with Stage 1 Lung Cancer. He underwent chemotherapy in the United States and returned to India in March 2012. He resumed donning the blue jersey in the same year.
Manisha Koirala
The beautiful Bollywood actress had given splendid performances in films, such as Dil Se, Bombay, Lajja and etc. At the age of 42, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She received treatment in a New York hospital and came out of the disease. However, she did not stop shooting for films during her chemotherapy.
Anurag Basu
The director of Barfi was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (a type of blood cancer) in 2004. Doctors gave him a verdict of two months but that did not shake Basu’s spirit. He fought the disease for three years and came up with successful movies such as Gangster, Life In A Metro and Barfi.
Lisa Ray
In 2009, the Indian-born actress was diagnosed with multiple Myeloma (another type of blood cancer). She immediately started medication and shut herself away from any media attention. For over a year, Lisa fought blood cancer and came out victorious. In 2010, she made a public announcement saying that she had a full stem cell replacement and was completely cured.
Mumtaz
The legendary Bollywood actress had won many hearts with her performances in films such as Do Raaste, Chor Machaye Shor, Aag, Khilona, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Upaasna and so on. But, she left all of her fans speechless when she fought against breast cancer at the age of 54. She fought the disease for 11 years and made sure it did not get the better of her. She was featured in the UniGlobe Entertainments documentary on cancer survival called ‘1 Minute‘.
Cobie Smulders
Smulders was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was just 25 years old — and when she was in the middle of filming the third season of How I Met Your Mother. She chose not to talk about the diagnosis publicly until 2015.
Fortunately, Smulders’ surgeon was able to save enough of her ovaries for her to conceive. She and actor/comedian husband Taran Killam have two daughters, ages 10 and 4. When asked if she believes cancer made her stronger, Smulders said “I’m a survivor — and grateful for that. I will say it has brought me to this place of more strengths.”
Lance Armstrong
On October 2, 1996, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer. In addition to surgery to remove the cancerous testis and treatment with chemotherapy, Lance underwent brain surgery to remove two cancerous lesions. He survived his testicular cancer and fairly aggressive treatment, and not only survived but went on to cycling fame. Testicular cancer is somewhat unique among solid cancers, as it may be curable even after it has metastasized.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman, ‘Logan’ has undergone six surgeries battling the form of Skin Cancer. In February 2017, Hugh Jackman received his sixth operation to remove traces of skin cancer from his face.BCC is a disease that affects the outermost layers of the skin cells, the epidermis. Aside from melanoma, it is the most commonly-treated type of skin cancer and typically shows itself in the form of open sores, red patches, pink growths, shiny bumps, or scars.