Lisa Ray reveals the impact of chemotherapy on her body: ‘I went into menopause at 37’

Mumbai, Aug 12
Actress Lisa Ray has opened up about her experience with early menopause and the impact chemotherapy had on her body.

Reflecting on her health journey, the actress revealed that she went through menopause at the age of 37 after undergoing chemotherapy. In her recent post on Instagram, the ‘Four More Shots Please’ actress shared that chemotherapy pushed her body into menopause earlier than expected, leaving her with little understanding of what was happening at the time. She explained that, like many women, she spent years adapting to the changes instead of fully understanding their impact on her overall wellbeing.

Lisa wrote, “I went into menopause at 37. Chemotherapy pushed my body across that threshold, and I found with very little understanding of what was happening For years, I did what so many women do: I adapted. I was. But survival and wellbeing are not the same thing. The deeper I go into women’s midlife health, the more astonished I am by how much we still don’t know. It feels like opening Pandora’s box — except this is one box I’m very glad we’ve finally opened.”

“My own experience taught me something else: the silence can be almost as difficult to navigate as the symptoms. And we are finally waking up to the scale of it. A 2025 Indian study surveyed more than 32,000 women from under-resourced communities. Half were unaware of the effects of menopause. 62% were unaware that treatment was available. This is an epidemic of silence and inadequate care that we are only now waking up to.”

The actress added, “That silence stayed with me. And eventually, it became part of the reason I co-founded @nuher.me I wanted to help build what I couldn’t find at 37: a place dedicated to women’s midlife and hormonal health. Through NuHer, and through the growing community of menopause-informed specialists doing this work, I believe we can change what midlife healthcare looks like for women.

From “It’s your age.” To “Let’s understand what’s happening.” From “Learn to live with it.” To “Let’s look at the evidence and your individual health story.” From suffering quietly to knowing that there are options, there is support, and you deserve both.”

She concluded, saying, “Because women deserve more than endurance as a healthcare strategy. Research is growing. Conversations are getting louder. Women are asking better questions — and refusing to disappear quietly into midlife.”

In 2009, Lisa Ray was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare and incurable form of blood cancer affecting the plasma cells.