The Toronto-born, internationally renowned beauty was diagnosed in June 2009 with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow and blood cells.
Her treatment took her “to the brink” and back and had her suffer through a brutal regime of chemotherapy.
She was left bald and frail, her tiny frame bloated by steroids.
Plunged into the darkest abyss of her soul, she wondered where her future would be and how long that future would last.
“It’s not melanoma (skin cancer) — but cancer of the blood. Some people get the two mixed up,” Ray says politely in an interview.
“This one ... well, there is no cure but with every year the prognosis becomes more positive.
“And I am in remission.”
Looking at her today, one would never suspect she had ever suffered a cold sore, let alone cancer. With her brilliant green eyes, flawless skin and shiny chestnut hair, Ray is just as stunning in person as she is on the big screen.
If anything, this star of the hugely successful Water, directed by the award-winning Deepa Mehta, is even more beautiful, tiny with the prettiest smile.
She looks to be in her late teens or early 20s, although she’s in her late 30s.
And she’s candid as she describes in detail everything from her childhood growing up in Etobicoke, to a Polish mother and a Bengal father, (one of the schools she attended was Richview Collegiate, the same one Stephen Harper went to, “but you won’t tell anyone, will you?” she says with a giggle), to her life-long passion for writing and the arts, to becoming one of the most successful cover models and celebrities in India as well as an acclaimed, award-winning entertainer best known for taking on challenging issue-oriented films.
Add to that her activism and philanthropy.
She has helped raise money for Sick Kids Hospital and served as ambassador of Plan Canada’s “Because I Am A Girl” campaign, a global initiative that supports the rights of girls around the world.
Ray has also been involved with charitable activities for the McEwan Centre for Regenerative Medicine and is an advocate for the Fortis Group of Hospitals in India.
Her life reads like one of those delicious romance novels, full of adventure and intrigue, but the drama in her life could never be replicated in film — among many things she discussed, Ray talked with poignancy about her late mother, who died several months before her own cancer diagnosis.
“My mother was a paraplegic due to a car accident over 17 years ago,” she says thoughtfully.
“In a wheelchair, she fought an incredible battle throughout all those years and, to be honest, no one thought she would have lived as long as she had after her accident.”
After her mother’s passing, Ray took her father on a retreat to India “for some healing. But it turned out it was I who really understood the lessons of the retreat.”
Was it a precursor for what Ray would soon face? “I don’t know, perhaps,” says Ray, frowning slightly.
During the retreat, she had been grappling with bone-numbing fatigue and shortly after returning home she went for tests.
“The doctor looked at my blood work and quickly sent me for a blood transfusion,” Ray says. “I felt immediately better and thought that’s all I needed. But no, it was just the beginning.”
The diagnosis wasn’t made for several weeks, but when she was told, “I was numb. I really couldn’t digest the news.
“I had cancer?”
In a case of life imitating art imitating life, actress Lisa Ray has been cast in what one can only describe as the role of her life.
Myeloma is the second-most common blood cancer after lymphomas, affecting about 750,000 people worldwide and slightly more women than men.
In industrialized countries it is being diagnosed in growing numbers and in increasingly younger people.
Each day, seven Canadians are diagnosed with it and, today, about 6,000-7,000 Canadians are living with it.
The five-year survival rate ranges from 10% to 50%, but with newer treatments some patients live 10-20 years or longer.
“I was diagnosed when newer treatments were becoming more and more accessible. And I have to be honest — we are so lucky to be living in Canada, where research and treatment for cancers in general are moving at such a rapid speed,” Ray says.
“For me — it was the stem-cell transplant. It’s a procedure that brings you right to the edge — I just remember a blur of painkillers — and then pushes you into remission,” she says.
“They harvested my own stem cells and to do so they give you medication to multiply the stem cells, as many as possible before harvesting them,” Ray says.
“Then they use powerful chemotherapy to zap everything out of your system before returning the stem cells back into your body. You wait for them to implant, and it’s during that time you are most vulnerable.”
And, lonely, one supposes — Ray spent most of that time in isolation.
But through it all she kept herself focused on getting better — “because that was never an issue, I knew I would get better.”
Throughout her months of treatments, her highs and lows, the dips into darkness, Ray accepted support from family and friends, and blogged her experiences in rich detail and a style of writing that kept the readers on the edge of their seats.
“I always wanted to be honest with everything that was happening to me.”
So much so, she came out publicly a year after her diagnosis, appearing tired looking, somewhat bloated and with the telltale moon face caused by steroids, but always with that brilliant smile and air of optimism.
In April 2010, she announced she was cancer-free and in remission.
She has opted not to go on maintenance therapy, but says she has a second stem-cell treatment banked, just in case. She says she’s eternally grateful for the team of doctors and the “incredible treatment I received. And, although this is not a cure, I look forward to living a long, healthy life.”
She also looks forward to continuing giving back. Today, her charitable efforts involves public speaking, advocating for stem-cell research as well as charitable work for Princess Margaret Hospital.
She continues to blog and she’s writing a book on her experiences. And she’s heavily involved in Moksha Yoga in Brampton, a member of a group of independent hot yoga studios committed to ethical, compassionate and environmentally conscious living.
She has partnered with Myeloma Canada to help raise awareness of the disease and the need for equitable access to new medications.
You can hear and see her in her own words in the recently shot video for Myeloma Canada.
“It’s all about reaching out and making people aware,” Ray says with a smile.
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