Those who are already known to worry about their health become paranoid. They start speculating about the increasing incidence of disease and spread needless panic in the process. Many people start wondering: “In spite of doing everything right, if she or he is not immune to cancer, what chance do ordinary people like me have?” Such feelings are heightened if the celeb in question wasn’t known to have any unhealthy habits and appeared to lead a happy life. People flood social media with posts expressing all kinds of fears and distress. The celebrity’s life is dissected in the attempt to find a probable cause; many hypotheses are thrown around—maybe it was the toxins in their cosmetics or perhaps their erratic schedule is responsible; if nothing else, they blame their relationship challenges.

Can we ever know for sure?

It’s natural to want to know the cause of an illness, because no one likes uncertainty. But here is something to ponder upon: whether it’s a celebrity or someone else, no one can know for sure what causes the cancer, or any terminal illness for that matter, in a person. Sure, medical textbooks and journals enlist probable causes like smoking, exposure to toxins, environmental pollution, processed foods and so on as risk factors. But these are only ‘probable’ causes. The fact is that even if the person is genetically predisposed, not everyone with that same gene gets the disease. Epigenetics tells us that it’s the environment that triggers the gene. Environment here encompasses everything—from your diet to your emotions to the very air you breathe. So we can never know for sure what was the exact cause of cancer.

Not to forget that there are several examples of individuals who follow perfectly healthy lifestyles, only to be diagnosed with cancer or other chronic disease and equal number of those who smoke, eat junk foods and follow a poor lifestyle, yet live to a ripe old age without suffering any serious health issues.

When you approach your wellbeing from a holistic perspective, you are being pro-health rather than anti-illness

So what’s the point?

So does that mean we should throw all care to the wind and stop looking after our health? Actress and model Lisa Ray was once asked why, in spite of being a practitioner of yoga and following a healthy lifestyle, was she diagnosed with multiple myeloma [blood cancer]? Her response: “You don’t do these things solely to avoid disease. But when unexpected things happen or you are diagnosed with a disease, you are able to manage yourself better because you have been already taking care of yourself. I was able to go through the treatment better because of my yoga and meditation practice.”

That’s a very balanced approach to self-care. It teaches us to view healthy living as an attitude of complete wellbeing—living well and aiming for the highest quality of life in all areas—rather than as an effort in preventing illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and so on. When you approach your wellbeing from such a holistic perspective, you are being pro-health rather than anti-illness. On the other hand, if you look after your health solely to avoid disease, you are working backwards and such a mindset is not only counterproductive but keeps us trapped in needless fear. And fear hurts our immunity which, in turn, increases our risk of disease.

So instead of being fearful and anxious about getting a disease, take care of your emotional and physical health lovingly. Live each day with gratitude, resolve your resentments as soon as you can and eat a healthy, balanced diet without being too rigid about it.

And yes, the next time you hear about someone diagnosed with cancer or any terminal illness, don’t look for a ‘why’ nor compare your lifestyle to theirs. Just send them your silent blessings and be grateful for your health.

The post Why did she get cancer? appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Breaking the taboo that surrounds discussing cancer publicly, she no longer feels the need to keep up any image and treasures authenticity. As a result of her treatment and changes in her diet and lifestyle, the cancer in now in remission. Meanwhile, she has successfully resumed her media career and now also finds time to support several philanthropic campaigns. Here are excerpts from our interview with this confident, brave and inspiring woman.

Your father is Bengali and mother is Polish, you grew up in Canada, married a man of Lebanese descent, and spent time in London—how does the world look like to a person who has had so many cultural influences?
Lisa Ray: I feel blessed. To be honest, my mixed blood and diverse cultural references caused a lot of confusion and identity issues when I was younger. However, today I understand that my differences are my strength. I have unique experiences and a unique view of the world. I am very open and accepting and curious about the world to this day. I was a global citizen even before there was such a concept. However, at my core, I am very Indian. I came to Mumbai when I was 16—it was ‘Bombay’ then—and I spent more than a decade in India, so a lot of my cultural references are still Indian. I call myself a global Indian.

What made you write the “The Yellow Diaries”? Where did you find the strength to be open and vulnerable like any other common man or woman?
Lisa Ray: The Yellow Diaries started from a simple impulse to try to decode and process my Cancer Journey. I wrote to understand. It was like journalling, except I chose to upload those words onto a blog. I can’t explain exactly what motivated me to start a blog—but I can tell you that I started writing when I was on steroids and sleepless at night. Words have always been important to me, and using them to express what I was going through helped me connect with my vulnerability and the truth of the moment. When I was facing my mortality, it made me realise how much I value truth and authenticity and it released me from the efforts of maintaining an ‘image’ for the media. I simply wanted to share a very human experience and I’m fortunate that people supported me through it. I guess Cancer made me brave.

Writing is known to be therapeutic. Do you think blogging about your disease contributed to your healing?
Lisa Ray: I think my healing journey involves so many aspects of my life today, from food and nourishment to lifestyle changes to detoxifying techniques to healing old emotional and mental wounds to meditation—but the courage to begin to make those changes in my life started with blogging. It also helped me connect with others. I will never forget the full hearted support I got from India. I think that blogging also helped to challenge the fear factor around cancer. There’s a taboo in India—and to a lesser extent abroad—about discussing a serious disease openly. I couldn’t understand why? Keeping it a secret for the first two months of my treatment was difficult and painful and it made me think about other cancer patients who are suffering in silence. Writing the blog helped challenge this cultural taboo.

My priorities have completely changed for the better. Today my actions and priorities are in line with my values and my heart’s desire

In your journey towards remission, did you feel weak at times? How did you deal with your weak moments? Did you ever contemplate giving up?
Lisa Ray: Of course I felt weak and even depressed, but never hopeless. After getting diagnosed, something was unlocked in me, an unlimited potential for hope. But during my weak moments, I turned to humour, writing, meditation and contemplation. I truly believed that there was a reason for my disease, that it was connected with emotional and mental traumas and that I could heal—though it would not be easy.

What role does the mind play in healing? To what extent did your attitude and your thoughts help you in your tryst with MM?
Lisa Ray: I believe the mind plays a huge role in healing. Holistic medicine, ayurveda and even traditional western medicine draws a strong connection between the mind, body and spirit in health and healing.

Before you got diagnosed, you had been practising yoga and meditation for several years; you were also a seeker of spiritual traditions. Did that help in your healing?
Lisa Ray: Without a doubt, my yoga and meditation practice helped me through my cancer treatment. What’s interesting is you practise and you practise more, but in order to reap the benefits, you need to be in a crisis. For instance, I think my relationship to fear and control over fear was different because of my meditation. I was able to manage my anxiety much better due to my yoga practice.

Tell us something about your term “cancer graduate”—what made you think of yourself as a graduate than a survivor?
Lisa Ray: I’d like to point out a crucial fact about MM, the blood cancer I am living with: it is considered incurable. There are many new treatments and the prognosis is looking increasingly bright but the fact remains that I am living WITH the cancer. It is under control due to medication and lifestyle and diet changes I have made. In fact, I relapsed in early 2013 and ended up attending a three week Life Transformation programme at a holistic healing centre called The Hippocrates Health Institute, where I started applying healing techniques like juicing and releasing emotional blocks. Fortunately, due to my medication and these changes, I went back into remission after a few months. That’s why I call myself a ‘graduate’, since it’s an ongoing learning process. I’d also like to share that I’m participating in a clinical trial right now, which is very promising and has the potential to cure. I believe with my heart I will be cured and heal completely, but I’d like to emphasise that I’m living with this condition at the moment.

Every triumph and misstep has made me who I am today

How have your priorities evolved from the pre-diagnosis time? What excites Lisa Ray now?
Lisa Ray: My priorities have completely changed for the better. Today my actions and priorities are in line with my values and my heart’s desire. Health, wellness, writing, giving back and spending quality time both with myself and with my family are activities for which I never had time before. I still love acting and being in front of the camera; however today whatever I do is rooted in intention and values. I’m doing a lot of writing and painting and discovering full expression in other art forms. I’m planning on spending half my year in India and the other half in Canada. I also practise gratitude and try my best to focus on what I have and not on what I don’t. Travel is also still important, but with balance. I led a crazy, unbalanced life for so many years that it is taking time to heal from that lifestyle.

Has life changed after being married? If yes, how?
Lisa Ray: I have a soul mate and a partner-in-crime to share adventures with. We have so many common dreams and I’m so excited to make our dreams come true.

Lastly, if you could, would you change anything about your past? What and why?
Lisa Ray: Not a thing. Every triumph and misstep has made me who I am today. And a big part of healing is acceptance—because life is a gift.

The post “I believe with all my heart that I will heal completely”—Lisa Ray appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.