In an Instagram post this morning, actress Mahima Chaudhry, known for her role alongside Shahrukh Khan in the 1997 hit Pardes, revealed that she has undergone treatment for breast cancer.
In the video, Mahima spoke to fellow actor Anupam Kher about her journey with the disease so far. Mahima revealed that she was in the hospital getting a chemotherapy infusion when she saw Anupam calling her from his United States number.
View this post on Instagram
Anupam asked her if she would star in his upcoming film. Having turned down a number of roles due to the hair loss that comes with chemotherapy, Mahima felt she couldn’t do that with her fellow actor without an explanation. She excused herself on the phone and called him up later in the evening to ask if she could wear a wig during shooting. When questioned on why she would do so, Mahima told Anupam that she had been battling with breast cancer.
Breaking out into tears, Mahima went on to talk about her diagnosis. During her annual sonography test, Mahima was referred to an oncologist. The doctor told her that she had pre-cancer cells in her body and a biopsy confirmed that they had not yet evolved into cancer. Mahima still chose to have the cells removed. After surgery, the cells were sent for a biopsy which showed that a very tiny percentage of them had evolved into cancer, necessitating chemotherapy.
Mahima confessed that the experience was very scary for her despite the cancer having been caught in a very early stage. She could not bring herself to tell her parents at first.
Talking about her treatment, Mahima told Anupam that she was given a lot of strength from the patients she met at the hospital. In particular, she remembered a little boy who was also undergoing treatment yet remained bright and cheerful. She also remembered fellow women who she would see working and keeping busy while undergoing their infusions.
Before signing off, Mahima gave her fans the good news that her treatment has ended and she has fully recovered since her phone call with Anupam a month ago. She has completed two days of shooting for her upcoming film The Signature and revealed that she’s doing good now.
