Actor Chhavi Mittal, on Sunday, completed three months since her breast cancer surgery happened in April.
Taking to Instagram, Chhavi penned a lengthy note in which she talked about being positive throughout her journey.
"Today my heart beats fast as I complete 3 months since the breast cancer surgery. Extremely happy with the progress I've made, and patting my back for the positivity I continue to maintain. But mostly proud of the various things I've learnt about cancer first hand, and through the experience of my other fellow cancer brothers and sisters. Some of those facts are that a lot of times it's curable, the treatment, however slow, does have light at the end of the tunnel, chemo and radiation might affect your hair, but they don't have to affect your spirits! And most importantly, your disease may not be in your control, but you can definitely control how the recovery pans out," she wrote.
Chhavi also spoke about how one should not use the term 'bechara' for cancer patients.
"I've seen so many cancer patients heading to work straight after chemo, I did that everyday after radiation.. and I want to say, that I haven't heard many patients talk about the positive experiences, but have heard so many care givers use words like "bechara" for cancer patients! Please don't do that! They're far from becharas, and are in fact strength personified!I still have a long way to go before I'm a 100%, but I'm sharing my everyday recovery journey so at least some of the pre-conceived notions around cancer can be changed.And for all those cancer diagnosed patients who DM me, "I'm scared", go and watch my journey since I was diagnosed, and I hope it makes you as fearless as me," she added.
A few days ago, Chhavi slammed netizens who criticised her for making her breasts visible in pictures, especially after the surgery.
"Here are 2 pictures which I shared on social media. The first one is my breast cancer announcement post, while the second is documenting my post-cancer recovery and progress. In both pictures, I'm wearing the exact same clothes. In both pictures, my breasts are a tad bit visible. In fact, in the first one, I've taken my T-shirt off," she wrote."While the cancer announcement post may have more of my breasts on display, emotional as I was (am) about cancer, trying to fight the fear of what lay ahead.. whether I'll ever be the same again, or will I lead a life of compromise... it incited a lot of love and applaud from netizens, with no mention (and rightly so) of the cleavage," she continued to explain.
Chhavi also said that she will continue to share her victory without being bothered. She said that while her pictures made her look courageous to others, the next picture attracted negativity. "The second picture invited hate comments saying "Sab kuch share nahi karna chahiye (You should not share everything)", "This is not dignified", "Don't know what she's trying to be" etc...Let me tell you, dear women,... Firstly, this is double standards."
"Secondly, the association that I have with my breasts is beyond explanation. I have fought a very hard battle to save them.. to keep them strong.. to make sure they function the way they should and to ensure that they're cancer free forever. While the forever struggle will last forever, I will continue to document my victories like I always have unabashedly. If anything, I'm so damn proud of my body, not because of the way it looks, but because of the strength it has shown me. Because of what it allows me to do. And even more proud of my breasts, because only I know what they've endured and it's no mean feat to not just be survivors, but fighters all the way. But for the ones who can only hear sob stories and underdog stories, let me remind you... this page is not for the faint-hearted," she concluded.
Chhavi was diagnosed with early stages of breast cancer earlier this year.
( With inputs from ANI )
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