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Cancer is a fatal disease that caused due to uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells in the body. In Bollywood, many times we have seen several celebrated actors have shown extraordinary valour in their battle, turning their personal journeys into an inspiring story.
Here are five Bollywood celebrities whose early detection to long recoveries, highlight both medical progress and human resilience.
Anurag Basu
The famous film director, in 2004 while directing films and chasing headlines, found himself standing against a more terrific and harder script, he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia. It is a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer. Anurag Basu defied cancer in the best possible way.
At that time, he was shooting two films, Murder and Saya.Anurag’s cancer battle was not a mere health issue but it was more of a life-altering journey which had a lot of physical agony. His wife Tani was seven-months pregnant with their daughter Ishana at that time. He first got big blisters in his mouth, but ignored them.The disease caused his internal organs to bleed, his face swelled. He received chemotherapy and his family, friends, donate a lot of blood.
He recovered from cancer and returned to filmmaking around 2006. The hit, “Gangster – A Love Story” was the first film that he directed after recovering from his illness.
Mahima Chaudhry
Actor Mahima Chaudhry received a shocking reaction from her fans in 2022, when she revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. After 2022, Mahima became an advocate for women’s health where leveraging her personal journey she threw light upon the fact that how breast cancer doesn’t show any symptom.Breast cancer remains occult without proper check-ups, something she said at the Young Women Breast Cancer Conference in 2025. “There were no symptoms. I didn’t go in for a breast cancer screening. I just went in for a yearly check-up.I had no clue I had breast cancer. Cancer is something that you can’t recognize on your own early. It can only be detected early through tests. So if you keep going in for a yearly check-up, you will be able to detect it early and seek early treatment...”
she told ANI on the sidelines of the event.Her early detection accelerated her speedy recovery.
Kirron Kher
Actress and India’s Got Talent judge in 2020 was detected to had multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Anupam Kher, her husband was in a trembling situation seeing her, who on X released a statement in 2021 that his wife was currently undergoing treatment.“She is currently undergoing treatment and we are sure she will come out of this stronger than before.
We are very blessed that she is being looked after by a phenomenal set of doctors. She's always been a fighter and takes things head on," Anupam Kher said in the statement.According to the Mayo Clinic, multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that produces antibodies. It develops in the bone marrow and can disrupt normal blood cell production, bone health, and immune function. The disease is notable for its chronic nature, progressive course, and major advances in treatment that have extended patient survival.In multiple myeloma, malignant plasma cells multiply uncontrollably within the bone marrow. These abnormal cells produce excessive monoclonal immunoglobulin (M protein), which can impair kidney function and crowd out normal blood cells. The disease often causes bone lesions through the activation of osteoclasts, leading to fractures and hypercalcemia.Known for films like "Devdas", "Khamosh Paani", "Veer Zaara" and "Dostana", Kirron Kher had her emission around 2022 from the disease.
Sanjay Dutta
Sanjay Dutta the name reflects Bollywood’s enduring paradox. His life moved from controversy headline to movie stardom. But the actor was hit with a plot twist in 2020 when he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer.Initially there were symptoms of back ache which eventually turned as a crucial battle in his life.At that time, Dutta was battling with several health issues like breathing problems, so it was guessed that he might be suffering from Covid-19. The actor went through an aggressive chemotherapy treatment suggested to him by his doctors.Throughout his recovery journey he had shared glimpses of them in social media. Regardless of his exhausting chemotherapy sessions, he had continued to remain positive, often sharing messages of gratitude and appreciation for the love and support he received from his fans, friends and family at that time. Far less than a year later, he returned to acting immediately.
Manisha Koirala
Renowned actress Manisha Koirala was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. In an interview with news agency ANI, Manisha once recalled feeling she "was going to die" when she was diagnosed with cancer. She also said she wanted a second chance in life to "fix the score" as she felt she "was the one who ruined everything".She was diagnosed with the last stage of ovarian cancer. Her struggling period was laced with her wanting a second chance at life. "There were a lot of times I remember I would break down and I would see only darkness, hopelessness and pain and fear...I knew one thing, if I got a second chance at life, I had to go and fix the score because life gave me so much”, she said.For her treatment she had a surgery in New York and where she stayed for five, six months. She was cancer free by 2015. The actress had a comeback in her career after that.
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