Lisa Ray opens up about hitting menopause at 37 after cancer treatment: ‘I felt completely unprepared’

Lisa Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare, incurable blood cancer, in 2009, but it was chemo-induced menopause that left her suffering in silence.

Lisa Ray, the Canadian-born model, actor and author, recently spoke candidly about her cancer journey, revealing how chemotherapy triggered early menopause when she was just 37. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare, incurable form of blood cancer in 2009, and after undergoing an autologous stem cell transplant, she announced that she was cancer-free in 2010.

The Hanste Khelte actor opened up to BBC News India, in a January 30 interview, and talked about suffering in silence, while she waded through the shame and stigma of early onset menopause. In an Instagram post shared on February 5, Lisa posted a clip from the interview accompanied by a deeply reflective caption, opening up about navigating cancer treatment and coming to terms with reaching the end of her fertility on the other side.

“I suffered for many many many years silently…”

The 53-year-old model reflected candidly on her experience, looking back on a chapter that reshaped her life and sense of self. Recalling the moment in the interview, she shared, “I went into chemo-induced menopause at 37 because of my cancer treatment. I felt completely unprepared and I suffered for many many many years silently. I also had to carry the shame and the stigma and I couldn't even explain it to myself why.”

Lisa, one of India’s first supermodels, shared in her Instagram post how uncertain and unprepared she felt upon discovering that she had entered menopause at just 37. While she survived cancer, this was a chapter she endured in silence - marked by confusion, pain and a deep sense of shame that went largely unspoken at the time. In addition to her own feelings, the headlines driving fear and hysteria about hormones and menopause did not help.

She wrote, “I survived cancer. But menopause? That was the chapter I faced in silence. At 37, chemo pushed me into early menopause. I was told - almost casually - that the treatment saving my life would also end my fertility. No roadmap. No conversation about HRT. No emotional support. Just headlines screaming fear about hormones and cancer, and a body I suddenly didn’t recognise.”

Starting an honest conversation about menopause

Like countless women, Lisa experienced the full spectrum of menopausal symptoms - only she did so at the age of 37 - and like most women, she normalised the symptoms. She recalled, “So I did what so many women do. I normalised the symptoms. The exhaustion. The sleepless nights. The hair loss. The quiet grief.”

After enduring years of pain in silence, she is now choosing to speak openly - particularly because menopausal changes are so normalised in India that many women remain unaware there are ways to manage them more comfortably, including options such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

She explained, “After going public about cancer - a disease still wrapped in stigma - I somehow shut down when it came to menopause. The shame surprised me. The isolation even more. But here we are. And I’m speaking now because no woman should feel alone, uninformed, or afraid in mid-life. Not after everything we survive. Not after everything we carry.”

Lisa Ray is reframing menopause not as a silent burden, but as a conversation that deserves clarity, compassion and informed choice. In speaking openly about early menopause, fertility loss and the lack of guidance she faced, the actor is helping dismantle long-held stigma - and reminding women that knowledge, medical options and emotional support can make all the difference.