I’ll beat cancer: Lisa Ray

Actress Lisa Ray has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and says she's learning to face up to it and is determined to beat it. She says, "I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma on June 23rd. Started my first cycle of treatment July 2nd. Not long ago."

She elaborates, "For me, it was a relief to hear what was wrong. The plasma cells in my bone marrow were rampaging, multiplying, squeezing out the red blood cells and it was time to begin doing something about it. I was also tired of being tired all the time. And you just know when something is not kosher with your body. So when I sat there with Bobcat — my life partner and reservoir of Yellow — and got the news I didn't react and I didn't cry. I'm an actress, believe me, I can be dramatic. Not just then though."

Myeloma is incurable, Lisa blogs. She explains, "It's a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow that affects about 6000 Canadians. Every year, approximately 2,100 more cases are diagnosed. I'm a junior member in many ways, having been diagnosed at 37, while the average age is 65. Makes the disease not quite as 'sexy' as other cancers. But we can change that."

"In the industry I'm in, you could say it's motive alone that gives character to your acting. So today with Velcade and, Revlimid and other promising new treatments in the pipeline our survival rates are improving. But only with an ever expanding toolbox of treatments and awareness can this cancer be beat. So I'm going to do everything I can to wrench the spotlight onto Myeloma and Cancer Awareness." The spunky actress states, "I believe it can be cured. That's the Dirty Realist in me."

Talking about the treatment, Lisa says, "On steroids: you are HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. When Dr. Ahmed Galal, my Warrior-Hematologist at Princess Margaret Hospital gave me my first cycle of meds, he recommended that I stay off sweets. Well. Sweet things aren't the only temptation.

"I find it distracting to walk down my patch of Queen St without stopping for a nibble at the Pie Shack, scoping some sushi or sampling up kimchi and eggs. ...So I've always been fond of food, fought my battles with food (having been a model) and finally at 37 discovered balance. Until the 'roids' hit that is. Then I see a plate of 'Reliable Halibut and Fries' and my stomach goes: THAT IS MINE."

Fighting the dreadful disease has not beaten the actress down, "I understand that the meds are doing their work. I'm getting better. My prognosis, given my 'Junior' status and stage of disease, is very good. I'm aiming for Full Remission- and with Dr Galal and Velcade as my co-conspirators — this mission is in the bag. That's my claim and I'm plowing it into the mountaintop."

The actress' film, Dilip Mehta's Cooking with Stella, gets a Gala Red Carpet Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. Peter Stebbings' Defendor also gets a slot. She recalls, "I went for the press conference but had to bounce down to PMH for my chemo treatment. ...So the two worlds can blend: it's okay to cross over from ballroom to chemo daycare. There was one difference: the press conference was more stressed. And no juice boxes. Bummer."

She adds, "Do I go? Do I deal with the current red carpet obsession with pursuing the 'of the moment' perfection? I have after all, set myself up in this world. ... I don't want to hide. I want to celebrate. In my wetsuit." Go for it, Lisa... celebrate, and beat the cancer!