32-Year-Old Actress Dead
Bollywood Actress-Model and social media influencer, Poonam Pandey breathed her last in her hometown- Uttar Pradesh on the night of 1st February, Thursday.
In an Instagram post from her account by her manager, Parul Chawla, the actress is stated to succumb to cervical cancer. She was diagnosed some time ago and was in the last stage.
‘This morning is a tough one for us. Deeply saddened to inform you that we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer.’ says the post shared on Instagram by Poonam’s team.
The message went on to cherish Poonam’s loving and kind nature that was felt by everyone she met and the late actor’s near and dear ones requested for some privacy in the grim times. They expressed that Poonam’s well-wishers recollect her fondly.
Is is a Publicity Stunt?
In the morning, Pandey’s official team verified the news as fans and followers reacted with scepticism hinting that this might be a publicity stunt or a hoax. In an interview, the team stated ‘She passed away last night.’ The veritability of the news was also confirmed by her manager.
Poonam was last seen on the TV screen in a reality show called Lock Upp Season 1 which aired in 2022 and was hosted by Kangana Ranaut. Just 3 days ago, Panday was seen in a video she posted on her Instagram account of herself in a party in Goa.
Initially, her fans dismissed the headlines as an attention grabbing tactic. One of the comments read ‘Hope this is not fake or fun post’. The other one questioned if it was real or just some kind of a promotion for an upcoming project.
‘I’ll Strip if India Wins 2011 World Cup’ : Panday
This cynicism comes in reaction to the actor’s punctured credibility after she announced on 14th March 2011 that she would strip if India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup on Twitter.
This audacious statement of her’s grabbed a lot of attention on media. She then backed out of the dare, after India won the Cup, citing legal restrictions on the vulgar action. She later admitted that this was a publicity stunt, which was successful as it brought her to the limelight.
The shocking death of the 32-year old artist, who made her Bollywood debut in the 2013 film ‘Nasha’ has sensitised the masses on the alarming unawareness of cervical cancer in women in India.
Necessary measures on prevention, precaution and shame surrounding cervical cancer needs to be addressed and discussed in the society.
Cervical Cancer: Be safe, Vaccinate!
Cervical cancer is a very common type of cancer in Indian women. It is marked by unusual proliferation of cells in the cervix.
A sexually transmitted disease, Cervical cancer is spread from the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). If the type of HPV virus is a high risk one (i.e. HPV16 or HPV18), then the immune system isn’t able to guarantee its removal.
Its symptoms are tangible only in the later stage and can manifest as vaginal bleeding, bleeding between periods, post-menopausal bleeding, bleeding after coitus, abnormal vaginal discharge and pain.
A Pap test can confirm the presence or absence of the cancer. It is advisable for girls to take this test at regular intervals for precaution.
Vaccines for the cancer is available. Indian-made vaccine against HPV virus can be injected to girls from the ages 9 to 14.
