“I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on June 23. I started my first cycle of treatment on July 2. For me, it was a relief to hear what was wrong,” Lisa, 37, posted on her blog .www.lisaraniray.wordpress.com.
The model-turned-actress decided to undergo medical examination a few months ago after she felt “exhausted, pale and drained” all the time.
Explaining her disease, Lisa said: “Myeloma is incurable. It’s a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow.... Every year, approximately 2,100 more cases are diagnosed. I am a junior member in many ways, having been diagnosed at 37, while the average age is 65... makes the disease not quite as ‘sexy’ as other cancers.”
However, Lisa is hopeful that “it can be cured” with the new treatments available in the healthcare sector these days.
“So today with Velcade and, Revlimid and other promising new treatments in the pipeline, our survival rates are improving. But only with an ever expanding toolbox of treatments and awareness can this cancer be defeated. So I’m going to do everything I can to wrench the spotlight onto myeloma and cancer awareness. I believe it can be cured. That’s the dirty realist in me,” she wrote.
