On 5th March, Irrfan Khan shook up the entire Bollywood industry and his fans when he tweeted that he was suffering from a rare disease.
— Irrfan (@irrfank) March 5, 2018
Although Khan specifically said that he will be revealing whatever results come in and to be patient, almost immediately various news sites and media houses started assuming and publishing exactly what rare disease he is suffering from, as per them.
Some speculated how the disease could be brain tumour/cancer, while others published pieces of how Irrfan Khan had been admitted at the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai.
These reports were quickly trashed and proved untrue when an official from the hospital was quoted by PTI saying, “It is not true. He is not here at the hospital for treatment.”
The actor appealed to his fans not to speculate about the disease or believe anything being reported as he himself will be announcing what disease it is once he has more conclusive results at hand.
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And now, on 16th March 2018, Khan in his latest tweet has finally told what that rare disease is.
— Irrfan (@irrfank) March 16, 2018
In his tweet, he mentioned that he has been diagnosed with ‘NeuroEndocrine Tumour’ that happens when the neuroendocrine cells form tumours and is supposedly a stressful disease.
What Is NeuroEndocrine Tumour?
The tumour is extremely rare, so much so that perhaps 1 in a million cases arise in a year and while most people believe tumours to be in the brain region that is not the case with this one.
The neuroendocrine tumour forms in the neurendocrine system that include our nerves and glands and is in charge of producing and releasing hormones through our bloodstream and into the rest of the body.
As per medical sites, this tumour can be of 3 types, Pheochromocytoma that being in the chromaffin cell of the adrenal gland can increase the production of hormones like adrenaline. Merkel cell cancer, usually found in the head or neck region and is an aggressive tumour that grows rapidly. The third being neuroendocrine carcinoma and can form in almost any part of the body, it is the most common of a neuroendocrine tumour.
The symptoms are not immediately visible and most of the times as per sources, the disease is found out by accident. This type of a tumour can happen anywhere in the body and the symptoms are based on the location it is in while the treatment depends on the type of tumour that has been formed. However, a few that are common to all 3 as per medical sources could be:
– Fluctuating blood suga
– Flushing of skin
– Stomach pain
– Going out of breath very quickly
– Bowel habits could change
– Weight loss
– Appetite might decrease
According to cancer.net, there is a 60% survival rate of 5 years that means a person can live at least 5 years after the diagnosis of the tumour. The small size of the tumours and their slow-growing nature can be a hindrance to early detection and treatment which could possibly increase someone’s chances of survival.
A nonmalignant tumour of this kind can last one their lifetime without showing any symptoms or spreading. However, a malignant type can be fatal if not detected early and treated properly.
According to Irrfan’s tweet, he will be travelling out of the country due to this, presumably to get treatment for it and understand exactly what kind is needed as there are various approaches like chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to name a few.
Inspite of all this, Khan has told the director, Abhinay Deo of his upcoming film Blackmail, to not let his disease affect the film or postpone it.
Deo was quoted saying by IANS that “When I met him, he was very curious to know about the trailer, songs and the dialogue promos that we would be making. His only request was that the film should get the best possible release and it should not suffer because of his absence.”
Thus, the film will be released as per schedule on 6th April and even the song for it was released only after the producer and makers met Irrfan and everything was cleared out.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Business Standard, The Indian Express, NDTV
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