After sharing her struggle with cancer with her fans on social media, actor Sonali Bendre has gone mainstream with her experience. She recently appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. Sporting a lovely pixie cut, Sonali shared the magazine cover on her Twitter account.
“There’s no one way to tell how our experiences change us or shape us. Not all transformations are visible. What I’ve learnt is to never let it hold me back. I‘d rather dress up and show up! That’s how I would describe my shoot for the @bazaarindia cover”, she wrote as the caption.
During her interview with the luxury fashion magazine, Sonali got very candid and honest about her experience. She spoke about her PET scan and what adversity looked like for her.
So when my PET [Positron Emission Tomography] scan showed up cancer had spread all over my abdomen, like fairy lights scattered all over, and when the doctor in New York said that there was about 30 per cent chance of it all going away, we were shattered.Sonali Bendre, Harper’s Bazaar
However, hope is what helped Sonali and her family get through the tough times. “But the thought of death didn’t come to me. I thought this was going to be a long struggle, but I never thought I’d die.” she told the magazine.
Sonali Bendre also shared her thoughts on how she adapted to the hair loss. “When I shaved my hair, my friends asked me to keep it, maybe make my own wig out of it, but I wanted the old hair to go, it was not mine. I wanted to let go. I think I hid a lot under my long hair." she said while speaking to the magazine.
In a video posted on Instagram, she also wrote about how it took her sometime to get used to the short hair. However, once she had embraced the new look, there was no going back.
Ever since coming back from the US, where Sonali was undergoing her cancer treatment, the actor has been very vocal about her very personal journey. She uses social media platforms to raise awareness and fight the stigma of speaking about such topics. Recently, she was spotted shooting for Neha Dhupia’s show BFF’s with Vogue. with her friends Sussanne Khan and Gayatri Joshi.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times and Firstpost)
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