How Irrfan Khan kept fans in the loop during battle with rare cancer

Though actor Irrfan Khan’s death came as a shocker on Wednesday, the prolific actor had always ensured he kept away rumours about his health as much as possible. Right from when he was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in March 2018, Irrfan took to his social media handles to reveal his diagnosis. He also urged people to avoid speculations and fake news and promised his well-wishers that he would keep them in the loop about his health.

And that is what he kept doing through the two years he battled the rare form of cancer.

On March 6, 2018, Irrfan broke the news about being diagnosed with a rare disease through a tweet. “Sometimes you wake up with a jolt with life shaking you up. The last fifteen days, my life has been a suspense story. Little had I known that my search for rare stories would make me find a rare disease. I have never given up and have always fought for my choices and always will. My family and friends are with me and we are working it out the best way possible. In trying times, please don’t speculate as I will myself share with you my story within a week – ten days, when the further investigations come with a conclusive diagnosis. Till then, wish the best for me,” he wrote.

After the diagnosis was confirmed on March 16, 2018, he tweeted the same and told fans that journey of the treatment was taking him out of the country.

A few days later, he put out his post from the hospital in London. Khan shared a picture of a silhouette of himself, and captioned it with a powerful poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Though he kept a low social media profile during his treatment, his health improved in 2019 and he prepared to shoot for Angrezi Medium, the sequel to his 2017 hit Hindi Medium. When he returned to India in April 2019, he shared a picture and tweeted: Maybe, somewhere in the pursuit of winning, we forget how much it means to be loved. In our vulnerability, we are reminded. As I leave my footprints onto these steps of my life, I want to pause to be grateful for receiving your immense love and support, it soothed me in my process of healing. So I travel back to you, thanking you from the bottom of my heart.”

He also spoke to the Times of India about his journey with battling cancer and the panic that had gripped him.

However, as Angrezi Medium was set for release in March this year, his health degraded again and kept away from promotions. He also shared a heartfelt voice note about not being able to be there. There are some unwanted guests in my body and they are keeping me busy, he said. “Enjoy the trailer, and be kind to each other, and enjoy the film. And yes, wait for me.” Irrfan signed off.