These Celebrities Fought Breast Cancer and Reclaimed Their Life

Mumtaz

The famous yesterday actress Mumtaz who gave hits like Khilona, Apna Desh, Roop Tera Mastana, revealed recently that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the year 2000 when she was 54, after identifying a malignant lump in her breasts. She overcame it with determination and family support after medical intervention and rounds of chemotherapy. Mumtaz quoted in a media interview, “I don’t give up easily. Even death will have to fight me.”

Martina Navratilova

The Wimbledon tennis champion was diagnosed with a non-invasive form of cancer, called ductal carcinoma in situ, which was detected during a mammogram in 2010. The cancer was surgically removed followed by radiation treatments, and Martina, who said she skipped her mammogram for several years, urged women to get the test done regularly.

Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate, who played Jennifer Aniston’s sister in the series Friends has undergone a double mastectomy after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. She had inherited the BRCA1 genetic mutation, a trigger for breast cancer, which her mother is also a survivor. In 2009, she founded Right Action for Women, which assists women at increased risk for breast cancer who don’t have the insurance or financial means to cover the high costs of breast screenings.

Sheryl Crow

Singer and a Grammy award winner Sheryl Crow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 at the age of 44 and underwent minimally invasive surgery and radiation. “With your diagnosis comes a lesson, and for women who’ve shared their lesson with me, it’s always the same,” she told in a media interview. “Women are overachievers. We take care of the people around us while we work and do a thousand [other] things.” But she women must learn “to put on their oxygen mask first before putting it on anyone else.”

Gautami Tadimalla

Famous south Indian actress Gautami was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 35 and overcame it. She is known for her films Apoorva Sagodhararargal, Raja Chinna Roja, Dharma Durai, and Iruvar. She has also done Bollywood films Janta Ki Adalat, Pyar Hua Chori Chori, and Teesra Kaun? and also became a costume designer later.

“I received my diagnosis of breast cancer on a Valentine’s Day”, she wrote in her blogpost Life again in 2016. “I guess. I was fortunate. I had loved ones around me, supporting me in whatever way they could. And through it all was my daughter, who walked with me every step of the way”. She has found an NGO Life Again Foundation.

Tahira Kashyap

Actor Ayushman Khurana’s wife Tahira Kashyap has been in the news recently for her diagnosis of breast cancer and how she battled it bravely. Tahira had “stage 0” breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy procedure. She has a show, “My Ex-Breast”, a 7-episode series on Audible Suno, where she talks about fighting cancer and its effect on her family. She has also turned author with her recent book, 12 Commandments of Being a Woman.

These women have only fought through their sufferings to emerge stronger at life. Do you or someone you know has a cancer story to share? Let us know in the comments.

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A popular name in the television industry, Sriti Jha has wooed her audiences with her endearing performances in blockbuster shows like Dil Se Di Dua, Saubhagyavati Bhava and Kumkum Bhagya for many years.

Sriti Jha is yet again winning hearts and this time the reason is more personal. An old video of Sriti reciting her poem ‘Confessions of a Romantic Asexual’ has gone viral. The video is from Spoken Fest held in Mumbai in January 2020. It has Sriti Jha candidly and confidently sharing her experiences about being an asexual.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJ9EZqRhoIl/?utm_source=ig_embed

Most of us have little knowledge about asexuality. It is what the ‘A’ stands for in LGBTQIA. The poem touches upon most of the curious questions and misconceptions we have about asexuality.

What is Asexuality?

Asexuality is a sexual orientation, just like homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality. It describes a lack of sexual attraction. Asexual people may experience romantic attraction, but they do not feel the urge to act on these feelings sexually. They have the same emotional needs as everyone else, but no sexual yearning.

“You can feel all the butterflies,
And your heart skip a beat for someone,
And yet not want to do “it”.
Does that make your love any less?
Does that make you incomplete? “
–Excerpt from ‘Confessions of a Romantic Asexual’

Abstinence, Celibacy, Asexuality – it is not the same

Abstinence is about deciding not to have sex. This is usually temporary. For example, many people decide to abstain from having sex before marriage.

Celibacy is a voluntary vow of sexual abstinence. In some cases, it can also be a promise to remain unmarried. In most cases this is usually for religious reasons and is often a lifelong commitment.

Abstinence and celibacy are choices. Being asexual is not a choice, it is who you are and that is what makes it completely different from abstinence and celibacy.

This is not to prove me greater.
I do not celebrate celibacy,
I am not a sex hater”
–Excerpt from ‘Confessions of a Romantic Asexual’

Not a medical condition or any hidden “cause”

One tends to find reasons for every feeling that does not conform to the “normal”. Feeling sexually attracted to someone might seem natural to the majority of the people. Lack of this sexual attraction is often labelled as a medical condition or perceived as an outcome of past trauma or fear.

There may be various reasons of low sexual attraction in certain people, but what asexual people feel is not a medical condition. It is not genetic. It is not due to trauma. It is not due to stress. It is normal. And there is nothing to be fixed.

“When I said “no” I meant “no,”
They said you’ve got to try a little more,”
–Excerpt from ‘Confessions of a Romantic Asexual’

Love? Relationship? – Is it possible when you an Asexual?

Love, sex, relationship are words we use so frequently with each other, that it is difficult for us to imagine removing one (that is, sex) completely from the equation. An asexual person might not experience sexual attraction, but they might still experience romantic attraction. Relationship with an asexual person is likely to involve love, closeness, fun, trust, humour and excitement just like sexual relationships. Asexual people are perfectly capable of intimacy and love, just not in sexual ways.

“I had felt wow in hugs and kisses.
I had felt wow every time fingers had run through my tresses.
But beyond a point, when it went, I was left alone.
So I learned to lie in words in moans.”
–Excerpt from ‘Confessions of a Romantic Asexual’

The poem strikes the right chords, so much so that we tend to forget momentarily how taboo this topic is. The poem gives us an understanding of what an asexual person goes through. Most of all, it does not leave us feeling sorry for the poet. It leaves us admiring the courage that Sriti Jha showed in opening up to the world and asking for acceptance and nothing else – for her and for others like her. As she defiantly ends her poem –

“I am asexual,

I’m not the only one

I am everything I need to

Better recognize me now.”