Chhavi Mittal: My breast surgery scars are my battle scars, I’m proud of them

Actor-producer Chhavi Mittal, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, turned survivor after a lumpectomy. She has since taken up the mantle of spreading breast cancer awareness, giving others fighting this disease a ray of hope with her positive social media posts. But along with the bouquets of appreciation, she has also faced brickbats in the form of insensitive remarks – be it for sharing her journey or for flaunting her scar. In a HealthShots interview, Chhavi Mittal spoke about why she’s proud of her breast cancer surgery scar.

“When you have a scar on your body, it’s a reminder of how strong you’ve been, what a wonderful battle you have fought and how you won it. These are battle scars! They only remind me of my victory. I look at them with a lot of pride and I’m very proud of them because I came out victorious. So, I love flaunting them,” Chhavi said when asked about it.

Chhavi Mittal had revealed her breast cancer diagnosis in April 2022. The doctors detected a lump early after the ‘Bandini’ actress went for a checkup get a gym injury in the chest checked. Since the initial stage of her diagnosis and recovery, Chhavi has been sharing inspirational nuggets of her journey.

Check out the HealthShots reel where Chhavi spoke about her cancer scar.

Chhavi Mittal responds to trolls on her breast cancer journey

Some of her latest posts saw her flaunting her surgery scar and also directly responding to trolls, who raised insensitive questions about her cancer battle.

In fact, in a recent Instagram reel, Chhavi addressed the trolls with a message. She said, “I wonder what it is with people who troll me for my cancer. They’re like ‘Aapko kya pataa… aapke toh baal hain, aapko kya cancer hai aapki toh chemotherapy nahi hui, ya aapko kya cancer hai aap toh gym jaate ho’. What is the connection?”

She questioned whether the trolls implied that cancer survivors should stop living their lives. “Should I stay depressed that I had cancer and stop doing things I like? I shouldn’t eat what I want to, workout or dress up the way I want to because I am a cancer survivor?”

Chhavi Mittal instead believes that if one overcomes a hardship in life and succeeded at something, “you should celebrate life even more, rather than close yourself up”.

“For me, it’s a second birth, second life and new life for me,” adds the mother of two, who has even revealed that at one point, some people even doubted that she even had breast cancer due to her healthy looking breasts. With that, she had even explained that she underwent lumpectomy and not mastectomy.

“Didn’t have a choice but to be brave”

Over the past few years, various celebrities have opened up about their cancer survival stories. Mahima Chaudhry had revealed her cancer diagnosis too last year. While speaking to HealthShots, Chhavi reflected how when she revealed her diagnosis, people appreciated her bravery and courage.

“When people told me I was being really brave about it, I literally thought that I didn’t have a choice. I just knew I had cancer and whether I am brave or not, I have to fight it,” she said.

Once she shared her journey, she was overwhelmed with love and wishes from people around her. Her story also inspired others to share stories of their own diagnosis and battle with her.

“I thought I had opened myself up to a whole new community of people who I really wanted to connect with and bond with. After 7 days of my surgery, I had started moving out, going to malls and coffee shops. I just wanted to feel normal. When I met people outside, they were happy to see me out so early,” shared Chhavi Mittal.

To her, the fact that she has been able to give some strength to fellow breast cancer warriors or those who are still fighting, has been really overwhelming.