'I am not a data point': Actor and author Lisa Ray on how she defied her cancer diagnosis

In 2009, she was diagnosed with a condition called multiple myeloma. Hardly able to even pronounce it, she found her life transformed overnight as the news of a life-threatening disease hit home. Multiple myeloma, a rare type of cancer, is a malignancy of the plasma bone marrow, typically affecting people in their 60s. So, having been diagnosed with it at a relatively early age of 37, Lisa Ray presented a unique case. “Cancer is one of those things that you somehow think will never hit you. But when it actually affects you personally, it hits deep,” says Lisa, who recently gave a keynote speech at the Pink Warriors event in Dubai, hosted by HEALTH Magazine, bringing together a network of prominent healthcare professionals from leading government and private organisations in the UAE to spread awareness around Breast Cancer.

At the time of her diagnosis, the Canadian-Indian actor and model was at the zenith of her career. Lisa, who made her acting debut in the acclaimed Indian film Kasoor in 2001, gained recognition for her work in Indian cinema, particularly in Bollywood and independent films. “But, of course, I was ignoring a lot of what my body was telling me,” she opens up. “Often, these are the messages absorbed from society, especially as a woman. We see that we have to work harder, manage our careers, homes, and everything, with a smile. What often falls far down the list of priorities is our personal health and well-being, and I certainly suffered for it,” says Lisa, also known for her powerful performance in the highly acclaimed film Water (2005), directed by Deepa Mehta, which went on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Soon after her diagnosis, the actor received a lot of well-meaning advice from people around her, saying, ‘Whatever you do, don't talk about it openly. Just keep it a secret’. “I understood that this advice was coming from a good place,” she recalls. “Within the South Asian community, we tend not to speak openly about misfortune and serious illness. There seems to be a taboo around it. But I wanted to ask, why should I feel a sense of shame about something, specifically a cancer diagnosis that affects so many people?”

This is when Lisa turned towards the breast cancer movement for inspiration. “It was a beautiful case study of how raising awareness has transformed outcomes because awareness is power,” says Lisa. “It has brought breast cancer to the mainstream and put women's health, historically not spoken about openly, at the centre stage. Along with that, research and funding have increased, and we get to celebrate survivors and grieve together as a community.”

Lisa was among the first celebrities from the South Asian community to openly discuss her diagnosis in public. “I actually did it on the red carpet of the Toronto International Film Festival, making it as public as possible,” she adds. “I was already going through treatments, and one of my protocols included steroids, which, as anyone who has taken them knows, can affect your mental state. I was also about 40 pounds overweight, over my normal weight.”

Leading a public life as a celebrity is a double-edged sword. While a lot of good comes with it, one can never be fully detached from the intense scrutiny and constant judgement that fame brings along. “Stepping onto the red carpet, which is often a place where women feel scrutinised and criticised, I realised that, in my new body, which I was embracing because it saved my life, this was a powerful opportunity to redirect the conversation,” says Lisa.

somya@khaleejtimes.com