Lisa, a ray of hope

Vivacious and charming, Lisa Ray calls herself “a cancer graduate”.

Diagnosed with a life-threatening form of cancer called multiple myeloma, the Canadian actor had declared that she was cancer-free following stem-cell transplantation in the recent past.

As she sat listening to the stories of struggle and pain of cancer survivors at Fortis Cancer Institute Mulund, her bright glistening eyes were a reminder of the fighter that she has been through her battle against cancer. She was there to give away the Fortis Lisa Ray Award for Cancer Conquerors. “In a strange way, cancer has transformed every aspect of my life,” says Ray. The actor has currently a few film projects lined up, as well.

“High on life”, Lisa says, an essential ingredient of fighting cancer is sharing. “The healing is beyond the body and part of it is sharing. After I was diagnosed with cancer, the first wave of reaction came from India and hit me like a tsunami. It helped me change my attitude and I started sharing my feelings through blogs and twitter,” she says. Lisa says her positive attitude comes from the fact that she has treated cancer as “just another speed bump” in her action-packed life.

And, but for her blog (Yellow Diaries — http:// blog.lisaraniray.com ), it's hard to make out what she's been through — her battle with multiple myeloma saw her lose weight and hair, besides undergoing long, painful treatment sessions. So, what has coping with cancer taught her? “Well, every individual journey is unique and no one can come out of the experience the same. It made me think. Now I know power of community and sharing. I know that I can draw so much support from family and friends; that we are all part of the same home!” she exclaims. Recalling the words of another “cancer graduate”, Lisa says, “Were it not for the outcome, everyone should have cancer!”

COMMENT NOW