Sonali Bendre Cancer Metastasised
This is what we learnt from Sonali Bendre Cancer & Treatment:
What do we know about cancer of Sonali Bendre?
Over a year ago in July 2018, Indian actress Sonali Bendre took the world by storm through a simple Twitter announcement: she had been diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Through the following media frenzy, there was a lot of speculation if she would survive. The public rushed to read more. Here are the key facts surrounding metastatic cancer.
What is Metastatic Cancer?
Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread to different parts of the body. Metastasis is the development of a secondary malignant (cancerous) growth in another (second) part of the body. Cancer is labelled by the body part where it occurs: lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc. Read this post for more information on what different cancers are.
Metastasized cancer means the cancer has moved beyond a single region and is found in multiple regions. A metastatic cancer is also called a secondary cancer; for example a cancer that starts in lung and then spreads to abdomen. The lung would be the primary tumor and abdomen would be the secondary cancer or the metastasized cancer.
What Cancer did Sonali Bendre have?
Sonali Bendre wrote “I have recently been diagnosed with a high grade cancer that has metastasised, which we frankly did not see coming.” This means when Sonali Bendre’s cancer was detected it had already spread and was present in at least two organs. Which organs the cancer spread to was not shared. Bendre did share the was cancer on her abdomen (see below).
How does this correlate with cancer stage?
The stage of a cancer, labelled as stage I to stage IV (stage 1 – 4), is an indicator for how advanced or aggressive a cancer is and how it has spread. Stage I (stage 1) is the mildest form with stage IV (stage 4) is the worst. In terms of survival, stage IV offers
the worst survival outlook. A cancer that has metastasised is typically stage IV.
Although each cancer type is different, higher the stage of cancer the lower the chances of survival. When Sonali Bendre along with husband Goldie Behl reached USA for her cancer surgery and underwent treatment in New York she learned she had about 30% chances of survival.
Metastatic tumors may require multiple treatments depending on the organs affected and how the cancer spread. From the example above: the doctor may choose to give treatments for both the lungs and the abdomen. Cancer may also spread to the bones, which is called bone metastasis.
Is a metastatic cancer curable?
Sonali Bendre cancer treatment outlook “So when my PET scan showed up cancer had spread all over my abdomen, like fairy lights scattered all over, and when the doctor in New York said that there was about 30 per cent chance of it all going away, we were shattered.”
In general, stage IV cancers are difficult to treat but not impossible. Depending on the type of cancer(s), different treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, targeted therapy and immunotherapy may be used.
What do you recommend for metastatic cancer patients?
Start with the cancer treatment guidelines. Read them carefully and note what testing and treatments they recommend. For example, non-small cell lung cancer patients are recommended to test 9 genes and colon and rectal cancer patients are recommended to test 7 genes.
After first-line treatment failures, immunotherapy is an emerging option. Once a cancer becomes advanced and standard of care options from cancer treatment guidelines are exhausted advanced testing such as PositiveSelect Ultimate can be used to plan further treatment lines. It is unknown if Bendre’s cancer reached a level where she had to undergo this type of testing.
What was Sonali Bendre treatment of cancer and how did it turn out?
Details Sonali Bendre cancer treatment are not available. tHowever, it’s very likely she was following a cancer treatment guideline based approach. Her cancer is currently in remission. Many media outlets claim she has “defeated” cancer but the risk of recurrence remains. Most likely Bendre is required to checking for a cancer recurrence at frequent intervals (perhaps once a year). More details are required to understand her risk percentage for recurrence and what preventive action she may be taking. Metastatic cancer is not always a death sentence.
Sonali Bendre Cancer Post on Instagram
Bendre received a lot of support after her post.
Positive Bioscience wishes Sonali Bendre the very best!
Worried about your Cancer Risk?
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Related Blogs:
- Irrfan Khan’s cancer
- Yuvraj Singh’s cancer: This post explains why Sonali Bendre went to America for treatment
- Rishi Kapoor’s cancer
- Tahira Kashyap’s cancer
References:
- Sonali Bendre Interview on India Today
- https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/sonali-bendre-on-defeating-cancer-fear-no-longer-has-any-place-in-my-life-1468754-2019-03-02
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonali_Bendre
Published: May 18, 2019. Updated: March 03, 2020. Updated: April 18, 2020.
Disclaimer: Opinions in this post is solely for education purposes. This post has been written from the author’s personal point of view, combined with previously published public statements from Sonali Bendre, with reference links included wherever applicable. The views and content included here have not been endorsed by Sonali Bendre.
