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How Lisa Ray Defeated Cancer and Found a New Hope

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By supriya - Jun 01 ,15

Imagine having a glamorous and an immensely successful career as a model and actor in Bollywood and Hollywood with a life full of excitement and media attention. And then suddenly; being plunged from the limelight into the darkness. That was what happened to the beautiful Lisa Ray; but she refused to give up her dreaded illness and came out a survivor and an inspiration to not just the cancer patient but to those too who are in the verge of giving up in life.

“People hear the word cancer and they immediately think death sentence,” Says Lisa.

Lisa Ray’s life story runs like a Bollywood plot. An internationally acclaimed performer, philanthropist and actor with a reputation for taking on challenging issue-oriented films, Lisa was raised in Canada by an Indian father and a Polish mother. While on vacation in India, she was discovered by the modeling world and went on to become not only one of the most successful cover models in India but also an acclaimed, award-winning actor who starred in Canada’s Oscar-nominated film Water.

In the year of 2009, Lisa scanned for multiple myeloma (a type of cancer). “I knew something was wrong for a long time, but I was such a triple type A personality that nothing less than a diagnosis of cancer would have made me make the changes in life that were needed,” says Lisa. She was in shock initially, which was followed by denial but she never lost hope and tried to transform the experience into something which could help others.

After the diagnosis and the treatment, Lisa saw her life as an inspiration to many.“I got a lot of support after I went public. People paid attention when I wrote my blog and I used the platform to announce my diagnosis. I got a lot of support. That is when I felt that I should use the attention I get to talk about something that’s really important to me and spread awareness about my particular kind of cancer.” she adds.

Lisa lives on a basic belief that life is for her; not against her.

One year after the diagnosis, in 2010, Lisa was finally declared a survivor. “Beating myeloma isn’t easy but it is possible, stresses Lisa. Going through treatment was very tough at times but humour and writing helped. “And sometimes just crying and letting my grief out helped too,” she adds. She also researched a lot about alternative therapies and approaches to healing as well as letting her grief out; all of which helped as well.

When asked how she feels about beating cancer and bouncing back into her earlier avatar, Lisa says, “I simply feel more comfortable with myself. Work and validation is not important. I have always marched to my own tune. I think you have to look inside yourself to find your truth and passion. I love acting but it is not the be all and end all of my life. I love writing as well as entrepreneurial activities.”