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Tahira Kashyap, Ayushmann Khurrana’s wife, writes about her cancer scare, calls Sonali Bendre an inspiration
Ayushmann Khuranna’s wife Tahira Kashyap recently underwent a mastectomy. In an empowering essay, she wrote about her journey and how Sonali Bendre has inspired her.
Ayushmann Khurrana’s wife, Tahira Kashyap, has gone through a lot in the past few weeks. Days ago, the writer-director revealed in an Instagram post that she underwent a mastectomy, after scans and tests indicated early stages of breast cancer.
“I want women of all ages to be aware. I am 35, and I was returned twice over from a mammogram. If any symptoms come up, think of it as a protective force and get yourselves examined,” Tahira wrote in the post. Ayushmann spoke to Indian Express about his wife’s health, saying “I am happy today as she got discharged. I am relieved. It was unexpected, but she is fine now!”
On Wednesday, Ayushmann opened up even more about Tahira’s health and cancer preventative surgery in a new post, a day after his partner chronicled her decision to have a preventive mastectomy, after she learned she had high grade DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma IN Situ), in a piece she penned for Mumbai Mirror.
On Tuesday, Tahira’s article, titled, ‘Cancer can happen to anyone’, about her mastectomy was published in the daily, and Ayushmann shared it in a tweet, along with a few moving words of his own. In his post, Ayushmann kept his statement about Tahira’s surgery short and sweet, writing, “Dear @tahira_k you have become my biggest inspiration. It takes immense courage to share your challenge with everybody. You will be victorious. I have started seeing life through a different prism because of you!”
In her thoughtful article, Tahira delved into her decision to have a mastectomy and why it was so important for her to share her experience with other women. Speaking about how she just wants to start a conversation about something women don’t talk about enough, Tahira wrote that usually a mammogram (an X-ray of the breast) is not recommended to women aged 35; especially if there is no family history of breast cancer. But her doctor, who she writes has been a rock for her, insisted on it, in turn, saving her life.
“Getting a health check-up or more specifically a mammogram, is something women or their family members hesitate doing. Some feel if they get the screening done, they might end up getting it. Not true, neither do your breasts have an extra magnetic field of their own nor do they have some centripetal force that they will attract something onto or into themselves. Also, they do not secrete pheromones that cancer will get attracted to. Some get conscious about getting their breasts examined. Hesitation that can cost you your health and life is not worth it,” Tahira wrote, adding, “And trust me, the technicians see so many breasts in a day that no matter how much you want to believe, yours still wouldn’t be a rarity. So please take that bra off and let that goddamn machine do its work on them. The feeling or the thought that it can’t happen to me, should be buried. Let’s all of us exercise our wisdom.”
Tahira also wrote about how she finds Sonali Bendre’s choice, and similar choices women make, absolutely heroic. On July 4, the Bollywood actor and mother of one had taken to Instagram to share the sad news of her being diagnosed with a high grade cancer, and undergoing treatment in New York. Since then, Sonali has been facing cancer head on, and sharing the key moments from her journey on her social media accounts.
As her parting words in her article, Tahira spoke about what Sonali’s emotional, beautifully inspiring journey has meant to her.
“Just a few weeks ago, I read Sonali Bendre’s post and the amazing life condition she exhibits. At that point, I hadn’t discovered about my own condition. After reading her post, I made a mental note to emulate the high life state and the invincible spirit that she has. Well the time to do the same came much sooner,” Tahira wrote.
Tahira and Ayushmann have two children, son Virajveer, born in 2012 and daughter, Varushka, born in 2014. Tahira is a writer who recently announced that she would be directing her first short film.
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