Actors Lisa Ray, Sonali Bendre and Ayushmann Khurrana on Sunday commemorated World Cancer Day.
Ray, who fought a spirited battle with multiple myeloma (a cancer of the plasma cells), said it is perhaps the 15th World Cancer Day she had marked since getting diagnosed in 2009.
"Tremendous considering I was given a few years to survive. Survive. In the Kingdom of the sick. Not promised a return to the place I had come from. The well and living," the model-actor wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. Ray, known for films such as "Water" and "Kasoor", said today she is most interested in what saves people from cancer.
"Stories save us. Strange visions save us. Music and symphonies save us. Grace for mistakes saves us. Making a home in uncertainty saves us. Love saves us. A new way to see saves us. Contagious magic saves us. Good medicine saves us. Caring bedside manners saves us. Bad jokes save us. Unabashed gratitude saves us. Listening to the spirit saves us.
"Eating well saves us. Dancing often saves us. Unleashed laughter saves us. Consistency saves us. Risking happiness saves us. Crying when you need to saves us. Poetry saves us. Beautiful bed sheets save us. Science saves us. Trees and flowers save us. Faith saves us. All the above saved me," she added.
On her Instagram Stories, Bendre shared a picture with Priya Dutt at the World Cancer Day event, organised by the Nargis Dutt Foundation. Bendre was diagnosed with "high grade" cancer in 2018 and was declared cancer free in 2021.
Khurrana, whose writer-wife Tahira Kashyap is a breast cancer survivor, shared a heartwarming note for her on Instagram. "The girl I pulled by having samosa and chai at hut number 14 in Panjab University. All the best for your debut at the @spokenfest today. In love with your heart and spirit @tahirakashyap #WorldCancerDay," the actor wrote alongside a series of their pictures wishing Kashyap for her first appearance at the SpokenFest 2024.
Kashyap, who made her feature film debut with "Sharmajee Ki Beti", shared a few clips from the multi-stage performing arts festival.
The occasion of World Cancer Day comes days after actor-model Poonam Pandey faked her death from cervical cancer. The intention behind the stunt, which drew severe criticism on social media from celebs and users alike, was to spread awareness about cervical cancer, Pandey said in a video posted on Saturday.
Actor Babil Khan, who lost his father Irrfan Khan to neuroendocrine tumour (NED), shared a note on his Instagram Stories to call out Pandey.
"I don't know what the f**k that was about Poonam Pandey's demise, but it just feels wrong. I'm trying not to care but it is making me feel really angry. Awareness can be spread, faking statements of death should not be something that we rely upon to do so as individuals in a collective society," Babil Khan wrote.
Actor Irrfan Khan passed away in 2020 after battling NED, a rare form of cancer that can target various parts of the body.
"Bro long story short, this is the worst way to raise awareness about cancer and my intuition roars, sensing malice. PLEASE DONT F*** WITH CANCER AWARENESS," he added.
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