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Living
on the edge – the celebrity life!
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Sometimes
life cuts the fate of beautiful people way too short.
The stunningly gorgeous Patrick Swayze succumbed
to pancreatic cancer on September 14, 2009. At 57,
he was still the sexiest man although his abdomen
was split open many times owing to the numerous
surgeries performed on him to remove the rapidly
spreading cancer. In retrospection, Patrick was
voted the Sexiest Man Alive in 1991 by People magazine.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early 2008,
he lived barely a year and a half before giving
up his fight against the disease. In a few interviews
before death, he confessed that his chain-smoking
habit is what probably caused the cancer. The American
Cancer Society’s report substantiates this
and holds cigarette smoking responsible for 20–30%
of pancreatic cancers.
Whether or not Patrick’s death is a result
of his reckless smoking habit is debatable. But
it’s imperative to note that cancer is claiming
more lives than before. Behind those stunning looks
and impeccable red carpet appearances lies probably
a battered human whose topmost commitment is to
stay and look impeccable. |
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Sheryl Crow and Kylie Minogue were diagnosed with breast
cancer and living with it against all the odds. Sheryl’s
contributions to cancer awareness is laudable and she
helped the ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ association
raise around 75 million dollars by lending her voice to
the song Just Stand Up, the proceeds of which went for
cancer research.
Many refer to the cancer diagnosis experience as life
changing but few get around doing something about creating
awareness. Like the famous Tour de France winner Lance
Armstrong who founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation for
cancer research and support. Being the show woman she’s,
Jade Goody, who died of cervical cancer after it was diagnosed
in its advanced stages, helped in creating awareness about
the disease immensely. Although it was done for monetary
gains, her last days were televised to the entire world
making women across the world to take up tests. She was
praised widely for making people aware of the disease.
India is not alien to celebrity cancer deaths or survivors.
Sadly enough, such occurrences never come to light. Celebrities,
as it might seem, in a desperate attempt to preserve their
status and their picture-perfect images in the society
never open up on their illness thereby obstructing all
the chances of making any impact on the cancer awareness
scenario.
In related news, the gorgeous Lisa Ray is diagnosed with
Multiple myeloma recently. An incurable type of cancer,
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the white blood cells.
After having diagnosed with the disease, Lisa did not
go into hiding. On the other hand, she decided to write
about it to alert people about the disease so as to enable
better diagnosis at an early stage.
Lisa appeared on the red carpet for her next movie ‘Cooking
with Stella’ in Toronto looking visibly overweight.
The effect of steroids, she writes in her blog, makes
one really hyper.
The situation is grim as the prognosis is not great with
the survival rate of individuals who are detected with
the condition ranging from 62 months for stage 1, 45 months
for stage 2 to 29 months for stage 3.
But Lisa is not the one to give up. She writes dryly that
she got full membership in the cancer club, in her blog,
and that the Dirty Realist in her believes that her cancer
can be cured. Let the Dirty Realist succeed.
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Behindwoods is not responsible for the views of columnists.
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