#POPxoBoobCheck: Breast Cancer Survivor Tahira Kashyap Is The Woman Of The Hour

Writer and director Tahira Kashyap is the one name that can’t be overlooked when we discuss breast cancer awareness this October. Her social media posts have been inspiring and fearless as she battled stage 0 breast cancer. This 35-year-old posted her first picture post surgery with her actor husband Ayushmann Khurrana and it is inspiring to see her positivity. 

Tahira got diagnosed in September, incidentally on her husband’s birthday, and since then, she has been vocal about encouraging women to get regular check-ups done and not be shy about their bodies.

She even wrote an article for a leading newspaper, titled ‘Cancer can happen to anyone.‘ In the article, she shared her journey from diagnoses to finally facing the treatment. “Getting a health check-up or more specifically a mammogram, is something women or their family members hesitate doing. Some feel if they get the screening done, they might end up getting it. Not true, neither do your breasts have an extra magnetic field of their own nor do they have some centripetal force that they will attract something onto or into themselves. Also, they do not secrete pheromones that cancer will get attracted to. Some get conscious about getting their breasts examined. Hesitation that can cost you your health and life is not worth it. And trust me, the technicians see so many breasts in a day that no matter how much you want to believe, yours still wouldn’t be a rarity. So, please take that bra off and let that goddamn machine do its work on them. The feeling or the thought that it can’t happen to me, should be buried. Let’s all of us exercise our wisdom,” the mother of two shared. 

In her post, sharing her story on her Instagram account, Tahira spoke about how women often ignore symptoms and are unaware of their own body. She even mentioned Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood actress who is a breast cancer survivor herself. The actress had a double mastectomy (surgical removal of breasts), three years ago and even had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a preventive measure. 

When asked about his wife’s journey in a recent interview with a leading newspaper, Ayushmann spoke about the day his wife was diagnosed and how the couple, who have been married now for seven years, dealt with the news. “She was diagnosed on my birthday (September 14),” he recalled. However, they didn’t let that get them down. “We had to maintain a happy life state to deal with it. In fact, after we got to know about her condition, we went to see Manmarziyaan that evening. We told ourselves, ‘Okay, we’ve been diagnosed. We can’t go home and cry about it. It’s better to go for a film.’ So, we watched the film, came back and got the date for her operation.”

The journey wasn’t easy, the actor shared. He talked about how he would shoot all day and spend nights at the hospital, staying sleepless for seven days and seven nights. Ayushmann revealed that his wife inspired him constantly when he had two films releasing and she was in the hospital. 

For every woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer, one dies in India, according to the National Institute Of Cancer Prevention And Research. But these stats only apply to the women who have been diagnosed, what about those who didn’t see a doctor? Early detection, like Tahira’s case, reduces the risk of cancer spreading and increases the chances of survival. POPxo’s initiative this October, #POPxoBoobCheck, aims at encouraging you to go see a doctor and get yourself checked for breast cancer.

Featured Image – Instagram

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