Sonali Bendre and Tahira Kashyap’s brave fight with cancer has inspired many. On the occasion of World Cancer Day, both took to their social media and shared their experience on dealing with this horrific disease.
Sonali Bendre who was diagnosed with high-grade cancer last year, shared a Black and white picture of herself with a huge caption where she talked about dealing with cancer and how the mention of cancer brings fear to our heart, “World Cancer Day… who would have thought it would become such a thing… but it has! And just the mere mention of the C word brings dread in the hearts of anyone who hears it. We fear it so much that we’d rather not talk about it… which is why it’s important to have a day where we pull out the band aid and help us deal with this disease. I was scared too, but soon realised that burying my head in the sand was not the way to deal with this.”
“And so… with the little experience I have had, I urge you all to take the time to understand it. There’s more to cancer than being emotional or weak or even being called a fighter or a survivor. It requires you to study it, find out what works for you and to be diligent about your treatment. It requires days of strongly believing in oneself, of knowing that tomorrow will be better than today. It is not a fight against negative thoughts. It’s taking a stand to not give in, no matter what. Most importantly, it is about living every day, and not just surviving. Just taking it #OneDayAtATime makes it easier to #SwitchOnTheSunshine. #WorldCancerDay,” added Sonali who recently returned to work after a long break.
Tahira, on the other hand, shared a bold picture herself on Instagram with a caption where she talked about breast cancer and how she was able to fight it. In the picture we can see Tahira showing her post operation scars. “Today is my day! Wish you all a happy #worldcancerday and hope each one of us celebrates this day in an embracing way. That we remove any stigma or taboo associated with it. That we spread awareness about it and that we have self-love no matter what. I truly embrace all my scars as they are my badges of honour. There is nothing known as perfect. Happiness lies in truly accepting yourself.”
Tahira then quoted, her mentor, Diasaku Ikeda, whose words made her strong, “This was a tough one for me. But this picture was my decision as I want to celebrate not the disease but the spirit with which I endured. To quote my mentor, Diasaku Ikeda, “Leading an undefeated life is eternal victory. Not being defeated, never giving up, is actually a greater victory than winning, not being defeated means having the courage to rise to the challenge. However many times we’re knocked down, the important thing is we keep getting up and taking one step-even a half step- forward.”
