Ashima Sharda Mahindra • 17 Apr 2025
Real-Life Cancer Story: Woman With Incurable Breast Cancer Warns Against THIS Lifestyle Habit That Caused It
Bisma said she was doing wonders in her career, was also 'pulling all-nighters, running on caffeine and adrenaline, barely stopping to eat, let alone sleep'
A 30-year-old woman who has been diagnosed with an incurable breast cancer that has spread to her bones, spine, and liver has warned against one lifestyle issue she believes caused the deadly condition. For Bisma Lalji, who has been living with the disease since February 2023, living under a huge amount of stress due to her high-flying finance job brought her her health downfall.
While Bisma said she was doing wonders in her career, she was also 'pulling all-nighters, running on caffeine and adrenaline, barely stopping to eat, let alone sleep.'
Sharing all about her journey recently on social media, Bisma said she now knows that her high-pressure work contributed to her disease. “Chronic stress is a silent killer. It disrupts your hormones, weakens your immune system, and stops your body from doing what it’s designed to do — heal,” she wrote on Instagram. “Your body needs sleep for autophagy (aka cellular clean-up), to fight inflammation, and to recover. But when you’re constantly in fight-or-flight mode? That healing doesn’t happen,” Bisma added.
“Add a divorce into the mix, and the weight of my personal and professional life hit me like a tonne of bricks. But I kept pushing. Kept telling myself I’d rest “later.”
Bisma ignored the initial symptoms of cancer
A native of California, Bisma has stage four breast cancer, and the disease has spread all over her bones in her upper body, spine, and ribs, along with her liver. Bisma said she felt a sudden bout of agonising pain in her spine—which was her only symptom prior to diagnosis, but she ignored it.
Tests later revealed aggressive cancer had formed a 1-cm tumour in her right breast. Lalji said she was pregnant at the time of her diagnosis and was forced to terminate her pregnancy as well. However, as of now, she says due to treatment, her cancer is currently stable.
How does stress contribute to cancer?
According to studies, stress causes cancer mostly in those who smoke, consume more, and eat unhealthy food. Even though it does not directly cause cancer, stress influences cancer development and progression through various mechanisms—which include weakening the immune system, promoting unhealthy lifestyle choices, and accelerating tumour growth.
Additionally, chronic stress can lead to chronic inflammation, which is linked to cancer development.
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer happens when cancerous cells in your breasts multiply and become tumours. According to doctors, more than 80 per cent of breast cancer cases are invasive, meaning a tumour spreads from your breast to other areas of your body. While breast cancer typically affects women age 50 years and older, it can also affect those who are younger than 50.
The risk of breast cancer broadly increases with age, but other factors, like family history and drinking alcohol, also play a role.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer
Breast cancer, doctors say, affects your breasts in different ways—some of the symptoms are very distinctive. Others may simply seem like areas of your breast that look very different from any other area. A few signs include:
- A change in the size, shape, or contour of your breast
- A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea
- A lump or thickening in or near your breast or in your underarms that persists through your menstrual cycle
- A change in the look or feel of your skin on your breast or nipple. Your skin may look dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed. It may look red, purple, or darker than other parts of your breast.
- A marble-like hardened area under your skin
- Blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from your nipple
Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Health and around the world.