From Sonali Bendre (metastatic breast cancer), Manisha Koirala (ovarian cancer), Lisa Ray (multiple myeloma), Anurag Basu (blood cancer), and Sanjay Dutt (lung cancer); here is how Bollywood fought cancer.
Personal challenges of dealing with cancer can be huge. But if you want to win the battle and survive, you need to have the mental strength too. Lisa Ray once mentioned in an interview when she wrote a book ‘Close To the Bone’, how steroids, chemo and hospital hallway didn’t actually kill the spirit in her. She also mentioned how on the eve of the film premiere she was struggling to fit into her shoes.
Fighting cancer is a physically and emotionally challenging journey, but maintaining mental resilience, seeking support, and focusing on self-care can make it more manageable.
How Bollywood actors fought cancer?
Dealing with cancer has never been easy with anybody. Lisa said, “40 pounds heavier and about to debut my moon face in front of my peers and the international media, I felt just a little bit of self-pity-not because I was ill, but because I was unable to fit into my shoes. I had done everything to avoid being looked at in a certain way and here I was; dredging up vanity to encapsulate my life.”
Sometimes more that the treatment, it is the support system that matters. Actor-director Tannishtha Chatterjee revealed in August 2025 that she was diagnosed with Stage 4 oligometastatic cancer. Despite the challenging diagnosis, which coincided with the post-production of her film Full Plate and caring for her young daughter and elderly mother, she focused on resilience, love, and the ‘sisterhood’ support from friends like Shabana Azmi and Dia Mirza.
When Manisha Koirala had ovarian cancer, she too was in a state of shock. In 2012, Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala was diagnosed with advanced Stage IV ovarian cancer, leading to a major, successful battle against the disease. After treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, including an 11-hour surgery and chemotherapy, she became cancer-free and now advocates for cancer awareness. She returned to the film industry in 2017. She remains cancer-free and has documented her experience in a memoir, Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life.
Bollywood’s cancer survivors
Manisha Koirala: She was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer in 2012, she underwent treatment in New York and has been cancer-free for several years, often advocating for early detection.
Sonali Bendre: In 2018, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and documented her journey with grace, courage, and positivity on social media during her treatment in New York.
Lisa Ray: She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer, in 2009. She continued to work and share her journey, becoming a major voice in cancer awareness.
Sanjay Dutt: In 2020, he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer but successfully completed treatment, including immunotherapy, to become cancer-free.
Anurag Basu: The filmmaker was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (a type of blood cancer) in 2004 and fought it off despite being given a low chance of survival.
Tahira Kashyap Khurrana: Writer/director who openly shared her journey with breast cancer and promoted a positive, strength-based approach to recovery.
Hina Khan: Television and film actress who announced her diagnosis with stage 3 breast cancer in 2024, choosing to document her battle with courage.
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