Famous Celebrities & Politicians Who Battled Cancer And Survived

Manisha Koirala (born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress known for her work in Indian cinema, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Nepali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well. She is also an accomplished Bharatanatyam, Manipuri dancer. Born to politician Prakash Koirala and Sushma Koirala in the politically prominent Koirala family of Nepal, she made her acting debut in the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula (1989). A year later, Koirala made her Bollywood debut with the top-grossing drama Saudagar (1991). She went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses in the 1990s with such mainstream films as 1942: A Love Story (1994), Agni Sakshi (1996), Gupt (1997) and Mann (1999), she was also voted the most beautiful actress in 1990s.
On 29th November 2012, it was reported that Manisha had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and underwent surgery on 10th December. The surgery was successful. The Bollywood star gave the performance of her lifetime by battling cancer and coming out on top. She has been cancer free for almost 2 years now.

Yuvraj Sing (born 12 December 1981) is an Indian international cricketer, an all-rounder who bats left-handed in the middle order and bowls slow left-arm orthodox. He is the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi actor Yograj Singh. Yuvraj has been a member of the Indian cricket team in ODIs since October 2000 and played his first Test match in October 2003. He was the vice-captain of the Indian ODI team between 2007-2008. He was the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and one of the top performers at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, both of which India won.
While playing the World Cup in 2011, in which he won the Player of the Tournament award, Yuvraj had bouts of blood vomiting, nausea and breathing issues. After the tournament, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his left lung (stage 1) and underwent chemotherapy in the USA. In March 2012, he returned to India and was even part of the 2012 T20 World Cup after recovery. Read More...

Sharad Govindrao Pawar (born 12 December 1940) is an Indian politician who serves as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress. He previously served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on three separate occasions and held the posts of Minister of Defence and Minister of Agriculture in the Government of India.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is among the few politicians who have fought cancer and recovered and he says it is important to remain mentally strong to fight the deadly disease. Recounting the horrors of mouth cancer he suffered a decade ago, Pawar, 71, said his "steely resolve" and "strong willpower" helped him emerge triumphant.

The Barfi director may have never even gotten close to making the film when doctors told him that he had only 50% chance of survival in 2004. But like his movies, he called the shots on life as well and fought the disease like a champ. He wrote scripts during his treatment for Life In A Metro and Gangster. He was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia which is type of blood cancer, but has soldiered on.

Hugh Jackman has undergone three surgeries to remove skin cancer from his nose, all within a year's time. The X-Men actor thinks that he will need many more treatments. He says, "I'm realistic about the future and it's more than likely that I'll have at least one more but probably many more, which is not uncommon for an Aussie, particularly from English stock growing up in Australia where I don't remember ever being told to put sunscreen on."

Cynthia who is famous for her portrayal of the character Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 during a routine mammogram. Though initially she was sceptical about letting the media know about her illness, she decided to go public with it years later in 2008 at a television show. Since then, she been active in spreading awareness about breast cancer and is the ambassador for Susan G Komen for the Cure- a non-profit breast cancer organisation in the US.

The Uruguay-Mexican model turned actress, Barbara Mori was a huge sensation in India when she played the leading lady, starring opposite Hritik Roshan in the movie, KITES. But little did her fans know back then that she was a brave cancer survivor. Diagnosed with cancer in quite an early stage but it was shocking for her, nevertheless. After her successful treatment and recovery she announced in 2010 about a short documentary film by Namrata Singh Gujral titled- "1 a Minute" wherein she had been cast along with many other celebrity cancer survivors. The film was an inspiration for many patients and a medium of awareness for others.

In 2009 Lisa Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a very rare form of cancer wherein the white blood cells, that are called plasma cells get affected and in turn weaken the immunity in the body. She had to undergo stem cells transplantation. Lisa Ray is best known for her controversial movie, WATER in which she played the leading role. Although the disease she has is incurable, yet Lisa Ray decided to bravely face her fate and move on. After her treatment she came back to her glamour career and in 2012, she even got married. She even donated a part of her earnings from "Cooking with Stella" to the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research in Los Angeles. She proved it to the world that nothing can beat you if you wish to win !