'It was the most horrible...': Manisha Koirala reveals what went through her mind after cancer diagnosis

Manisha Koirala has opened up about the night she learnt she had stage IV ovarian cancer, recalling the fear and loneliness that followed her diagnosis.

Recalling the night at Norvic International Hospital in Nepal, Manisha said the diagnosis felt overwhelming once she was alone with her thoughts. “I was in the hospital and I was told I had cancer. That night, for me, was the loneliest and longest night," she recalled.

She remembered feeling that death was close. “It just felt like a dark space. I felt I was going to die. In that moment, it is the scariest, darkest space, very, very lonely," she said. The actress said cancer showed her how isolated a patient can feel. “I realised when I had cancer how lonely a patient feels. It was the most horrible and terrible time one could feel," she said.

Manisha added that loneliness is not limited to illness. “Even in a crowd, you sometimes feel lonely, like you don’t belong," she said.

The experience led her to reassess what she considered important. Manisha said the “second chance" at life made her set aside things she viewed as non-essential. “I got a second chance at life, so whatever was non-essential, I kept it all aside," she said. “I want to have a few good, close friends. I want to have time for nature. I want to enjoy life, inhale life and be grateful that I am alive," she added.

Her relationship with acting also changed. She recalled working for long hours across several films and eventually feeling exhausted. “At one time, I was working on three or four films a day, 18 hours a day, non-stop. No Sundays, no Saturdays, nothing, for years and years," she said. “I had reached a stage in my career where I was tired and bored of my work," Manisha admitted.

During her treatment, messages and prayers from audiences made her understand the value of her work. “I realised my work is essential because all those messages and that goodwill came because of my work," she said.

Manisha travelled to New York for treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She completed treatment in 2013 and later returned to acting.