Rajshri Deshpande opened up about her breast cancer diagnosis last month, and the actor has been keeping people updated with her healing journey through her social media. On World Health Day today, she tells us that she is doing it to normalise the ‘C word’ in the society. “If it’s there, that doesn’t mean that your life has ended. It has just begun, actually, and we have to look at it in a very empathetic manner. I feel that the end of the world is if you don’t take life positively, or with warmth and love,” she says.
The 43-year-old has been working towards creating healthcare awareness for over a decade and he insists that an improvement is needed in the sector, especially in the remote areas. “There are so many taboos and healthcare is not as accessible and affordable to people, and also the awareness is less, so as an actor and a social worker, I believe that I should talk about it, and spread more and more positivity through this,” she says, adding, “What we need to do is streamline healthcare properly. It should not be associated with privilege. I’ve been promoting healthcare awareness in villages for the past 10-12 years now. So, I know how in villages and tier three cities, it is so difficult to get the right kind of advice on the ground. They don’t have even the basic tests over there. So, it is important to have that system everywhere. It should not be that they need to go to big cities and get the operation done.”
Rajshri Deshpande also asserts that the mindset around healthcare needs to change. “Hospitals should not be a space where people are scared to go. Hospitals should be made more friendly and more accessible to people. Insurance is a facility that has been given, but it is so difficult for a layman to complete even that whole process. People like us can still manage it but it’s not easy for everyone and that’s why they are scared. We need not just conversation, but action now. There is a lot of discussion about healthcare, but what about on ground implementation? It’s about the actions. That’s why it has to be streamlined and structured properly,” she says.
The actor has been dealing with her healing journey with a positive mindset, and she admits it is a necessity. “You have to make others also aware around you. You have to make them know that this is how I’m feeling. That’s why every day a new friend of mine is accompanying me to my hospital visits and we’re talking and sharing. It’s also because I want to talk about the positive space, meet people, be happy, eat good food and that’s the only thing we want. Even with my family also, I’m telling them that no matter what is happening, the one mantra is to be happy. The positive mindset is necessary not just for the journey, but for life,” she ends.
