JOIN USCancer is not death sentence, brave it out: Manisha
Calling the dreadful disease 'cancer', as a lesson of life, Bollywood actor and cancer survivor Manisha Koirala on Sunday said "cancer is not a death sentence." She was speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival
"Try and try for good. Will power and best treatment will help one to get rid of it," said the actor who was talking about her newly released book, titled Healed: How Cancer Gave Me A New Life.
Manisha's autobiography highlights her battle with ovarian cancer and several other facets of her personal and professional life. On the sidelines of the literature festival, she told DH: "Cancer is all about dealing with it. In India, we still lack awareness of cancer, right from the detection to its treatment. And above all, an open-minded approach is needed."
When asked about how cancer affected her life, Koirala said, "at the beginning, I was clueless. But when I learnt how to deal with it and be strong, I started noticing beautiful things around. I suddenly became thankful for so many things and realised good health is one of the best fortunes one can have in life."
The actress was diagnosed with cancer in 2012.
Talking about the fighting the disease, the 48-year-old actress said as a public figure she thought of sharing her experience with the readers. "In the beginning, I was traumatized but it gave me a new perspective to see life in a different light. I couldn't find many positive stories on cancer which is why I planned to pen down my own."
She also appreciated the way noted cricketer and her fellow Bollywood colleague Irfan Khan faced the disease.
Manisha Koirala, who is also a Goodwill ambassador of UNFPA, insisted that the government should try to distribute free drugs to deal with the cancer. "But at the same time, we should try to not neglect our health and follow a healthy life style to stay fit," she said. Manisha is presently acting in the Hindi remake of Telugu movie 'Prasthaanam'.
Apart from the sessions on history and science, which dominated 2019 edition of Jaipur Literature Festival, day four also saw a poetry recitayion session in which noted academician Prof Mohammad Hassan recited poems from his recent book 'Sediments of Silence'. The session held at Samwad was moderated by Satyajit Sarna.