{"id":482532,"date":"2026-06-17T21:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/482532\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:59:12","slug":"lisa-ray-recalls-her-battle-with-multiple-myeloma-the-doctor-told-me-i-had-five-years-opens-up-about-cancer-relapse-and-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/482532\/","title":{"rendered":"Lisa Ray recalls her battle with multiple myeloma: \u2018The doctor told me I had five years\u2019; opens up about cancer relapse and recovery |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LisaLisa Ray recalls her battle with multiple myeloma: \u2018The doctor told me I had five years\u2019; opens up about relapse and recovery (Image credits: Instagram) Lisa Ray<\/a> has spoken about how her battle with multiple myeloma transformed her life, revealing that the cancer diagnosis pushed her to confront her deepest fears, abandon perfectionism, embrace vulnerability and ultimately discover a more authentic version of herself.In a conversation with actor and former Miss India Aditi Govitrikar<\/a>, Lisa reflected on her diagnosis in 2009, a time when multiple myeloma was considered a far more daunting disease with limited treatment options.<\/p>\n

\u2018I never asked why me\u2019<\/p>\n

Unlike many cancer patients who grapple with the question of “Why me?” , Lisa said her reaction was strikingly different.\u201cThere was just like a deeper knowing, a voice that said, \u2018It’s okay. You’re going to get through this. It’s not going to be easy, but you’re going to get through this,\u2019\u201d she recalled.The actor explained that her study of Tibetan Buddhism had helped her view the illness through a spiritual lens.\u201cOn a deeply intuitive level, I realised this was something that I had to face and go through. That it was connected with everything that came before,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was not living my authentic life\u2019<\/p>\n

Looking back, Lisa believes the disease carried a deeper message.\u201cThe malignancy was deep in my bone marrow. It’s the deepest part of yourself physically. I was not living my life. I was not living my authentic life. I had not brought all the disparate versions of myself together,\u201d she said.For Lisa, the diagnosis felt like a wake-up call.\u201cIt was like life, the universe, God was forcing me. Now is your time to finally step into what you’re meant to do, who you are, without fear and without compromising your voice,\u201d she added.She also connected her experience to the Buddhist concept of the \u201cripening of karma.\u201d\u201cWhen the karma is ripened, it means it’s ready to be picked. It doesn’t mean it’s a pleasant thing, but it means you’re ready to handle it, you’re ready to face it,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u2018There was fear, but not overwhelming fear\u2019<\/p>\n

While Lisa admitted she experienced fear, she said it never completely overwhelmed her.\u201cI had almost like this out-of-body experience where I literally felt myself out of my body feeling like, okay, this is okay. I’m going to get through this,\u201d she said.The actor believes her spiritual beliefs helped her navigate the uncertainty.\u201cI believe we have a higher self that has made a kind of contract before we come into this life. I believe my higher self had made a contract to go through this particular experience and come out the other end,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018A little bit of delusion goes a long way\u2019<\/p>\n

One of the most surprising aspects of Lisa’s journey was her refusal to let grim medical statistics define her future.While her family researched multiple myeloma extensively, Lisa deliberately chose not to immerse herself in survival data.\u201cThe doctor literally had told me, \u2018You have five years,\u2019 and showed me statistics and data. I just literally felt like my psyche left the room when he started doing that,\u201d she said.Instead, she adopted what she jokingly described as a healthy form of denial.\u201cA little bit of delusion goes a long way. No matter what the statistics were, I didn’t believe that was the signal I was receiving,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cancer cured her \u2018pathology of perfection\u2019<\/p>\n

The actor also revealed that the disease forced her to confront a lifelong obsession with perfection.\u201cI call it the pathology of perfection,\u201d she said.Recalling her modelling years, Lisa admitted she constantly pushed herself to outperform everyone around her.\u201cI had to be the best model possible. I worked the longest hours. If I was sick, they would send a doctor to the set, give me an injection and I would continue. I had to be good,\u201d she said.The pressure also affected her personal relationships.\u201cI was very competitive with other models. I had really poor female relationships because every other girl felt like competition,\u201d she admitted.Cancer, however, changed her priorities.\u201cCancer really rid me of the pathology of perfection,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Food became healing\u2019<\/p>\n

Lisa also reflected on her complicated relationship with food, which began long before her modelling career.\u201cI was a very chubby child. We were exposed to very toxic beauty standards. I had a very bad relationship with food even though I love food,\u201d she said.After her diagnosis, she began seeing nutrition differently.\u201cCancer rid me of those attitudes because I started seeing food as healing,\u201d she explained.The actor educated herself about nutrition and embraced major lifestyle changes after leaving the hospital.\u201cI realised the real journey with cancer began after I left the hospital. You’re out of crisis, but how do you rebuild yourself? Healing begins when you start rebuilding,\u201d she said.Following a relapse, Lisa adopted an integrative approach that combined conventional treatment with dietary and holistic changes.\u201cI went on maintenance therapy, a raw food diet and made other holistic adjustments. Together, those things put me back into remission without having to go through a second transplant,\u201d she revealed. <\/p>\n

Learning to ask for help<\/p>\n

One of the biggest lessons cancer taught her was the importance of community.Before her diagnosis, Lisa described herself as fiercely independent.\u201cI was so independent to a fault. I had this toxic independence where I felt it was a sign of weakness to ask for help from anyone,\u201d she said.That mindset changed dramatically after she publicly revealed her diagnosis.\u201cI understood the power of community because after announcing my diagnosis, I received such an outpouring of support,\u201d she said.\u201cHow do you get help unless you ask for it? It’s a simple equation, but for somebody who’s very independent and introverted, it’s a tough obstacle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m not going to take on your shame\u2019<\/p>\n

Lisa also recalled being advised by several well-wishers to keep her diagnosis private.\u201cPeople told me, \u2018Whatever you do, don’t talk about it openly,\u2019\u201d she said.Rather than retreating, those comments strengthened her resolve to speak publicly.\u201cI couldn’t understand why there was so much shame around cancer. What have I done wrong? Why should I feel ashamed on top of everything I’m going through?\u201d she said.\u201cThe shame was what put me over the edge. I said, \u2018I’m not going to take on your shame.\u2019\u201dShe extended that thought to broader conversations around women’s health.\u201cWhy do we carry shame around cancer, menopause, women’s health, even being a woman? I decided no more. I’m going to put down this load now,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

A journey of transformation<\/p>\n

Sharing her diagnosis publicly turned out to be one of the most rewarding decisions of her life.\u201cSomething really magical happened when I shared that very vulnerable moment,\u201d Lisa said.\u201cI didn’t know what the reaction would be, but there was simply this outpouring of support from strangers and everyone around me.\u201dToday, Lisa views her cancer journey not simply as a battle against disease but as a profound lesson in authenticity, healing and self-acceptance.\u201cCancer put a full stop to everything. It forced me to stop and face my own truth,\u201d she said, adding that the experience ultimately helped her become the person she was always meant to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lisa Ray recalls her battle with multiple myeloma: \u2018The doctor told me I had five years\u2019; opens up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[146117,430,156,242372,242373,242378,242376,242375,242379,242380,242377,242374,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-482532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-aditi-govitrikar","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-lisa-ray","tag-lisa-ray-cancer-battle","tag-lisa-ray-cancer-journey","tag-lisa-ray-cancer-recovert","tag-lisa-ray-cancer-relapse","tag-lisa-ray-cancer-survivor","tag-lisa-ray-cancer-transformation","tag-lisa-ray-cancer-treatment","tag-lisa-ray-recalls-multiple-myeloma-diagnosis","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}