Hina Khan Cancer Row: Misinformation, Miracle Cures & Toxic Positivity of Celebs
Opinion | "The concept of positivity in the face of a life-threatening diagnosis is far more complex," writes Urvashi Prasad.
BY: URVASHI PRASAD
Actor Rozlyn Khan recently took to social media to share the PET scan reports of fellow actor Hina Khan, igniting a storm of speculation regarding the accuracy of Hina's earlier health disclosures. Rozlyn claims that Hina has in fact been diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer, contradicting the latter’s previous assertion of having Stage 3 cancer. To bolster her statement, Rozlyn has released medical documents from Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
While I do not support the act of disclosing a patient's medical information without their consent, and the authenticity of these reports remains uncertain, this situation highlights significant concerns about the rampant spread of cancer misinformation in India, particularly involving celebrities.
Ironically, just a day prior, Hina Khan had shared a video featuring actor Sanjay Dutt, praising him for his courage in overcoming Stage 4 lung cancer.
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In the video shared by Hina Khan on her Instagram profile, Sanjay Dutt not only spreads potentially misleading information but also endorses a dangerously oversimplified version of toxic positivity.
(Urvashi Prasad is a Public Policy Specialist with NITI Aayog. She can be reached at @urvashi01. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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