Lisa Ray reveals she was heartbroken at being replaced in travel show after chemo: ‘They wanted a girl with long hair’

On National Cancer Awareness Day, Lisa Ray opened up about her cancer battle in her latest post. She battled cancer of the plasma of the bone marrow in 2009 and was later declared cancer-free, after she underwent a stem cell transplant. In her latest post, Lisa revealed how she was replaced in a travel show after she lot her hair due to chemotherapy and she opted for a ‘chemo cut.’ Also read: Everyone wants to know where Lisa Ray is living

Lisa’s long post for Humans Of Bombay read, “’How are you still standing? Your red blood cell count is so low that you can go into cardiac arrest any moment!’ That’s what my doctor said when she 1st saw my blood test report. I’d been experiencing fatigue for months. And a few tests later, another doctor said, ‘You’ve cancer of the plasma of the bone marrow.’ At that moment, for the 1st time in years, I stopped and took a breath. I’d always been on the go. But while a part of me lived on the red carpet, the other craved spiritual peace – extreme ends! Like, I wanted to write a book. It helped me connect with myself. But with work, I never got to do it.”

Lisa’s post went on to explain how ‘cancer changed things’ for her and made her feel like being close to death during stem cell surgery. She added that she was being ‘reborn’ during the surgery. She also talked about how her journey helped others after she shared her blog.

“After my treatment, I once tried wearing a wig for a public event but I found it to be ridiculous. I told myself, ‘Remove it’ and went all bald. It was all over the headlines but more than that, it was the most liberating thing I’d ever done. But the media wasn’t always nice. After chemo, I was a part of a travel show with my hair short. I called it a ‘chemo cut.’ But the channel replaced me. They wanted a girl with ‘long’ hair. It was heartbreaking,” she added.

Lisa relapsed after 3 years of her cancer recovery around her wedding. It took her months to beat cancer once again and this time without any surgery. Earlier, Lisa had shared that she tried to hide it from her husband Jason Dehni for some time. Lisa and Jason got married in 2012.

Lisa talked about her cancer journey in her memoir Close To The Bone, which released in 2019.