Updated 25 August 2025 at 08:45 IST
What Is Oligometastatic Cancer? National Award-winning Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee Diagnosed With Stage 4
According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Oligometastatic Cancer is an intermediate state of cancer between localised and widely spread disease.
Popular actress Tannishtha Chatterjee, who is known for her work in several Hindi and English independent films, has been diagnosed with stage 4 Oligometastatic Cancer. The actress took to her social media handle to open up about her diagnosis and penned a gratitude note to all the women who stood beside her in this difficult time and supported her.
What is Oligometastatic Cancer?
According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Oligometastatic Cancer is an intermediate state of cancer between localised and widely spread disease. It occurs when cells from the original tumour travel within the body to one or a few sites, forming new tumours. Oligometastatic disease is most common in kidney, lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers. It spreads to around five sites in your body. "Given that no driver and somatic mutations specific to OMD are currently established, the diagnosis of OMD is mainly based on the results of X-ray studies," as per NCBI. It is treated with radiation therapy to delay the spread of metastatic disease for certain cancers.
'Can’t get worse than this,' writes Tannishtha Chatterjee
Taking to her Instagram handle, Tannishtha shared a set of two photos and revealed that she was diagnosed with stage-4 oligometastatic cancer 8 months back. The first photo shows Tannishtha with her head shaved, sitting on a sofa and smiling with confidence. In the second image, she can be seen enjoying quality time with her industry friends, including Vidya Balan, Dia Mirza, Divya Dutta, Konkona Sensharma, Shabana Azmi and others. In the caption, she poured her heart out, opening up about her disease. She recalled how she lost her father to cancer, and now she is also battling one, with a 70-year-old mother and a 9-year-old daughter dependent on her.
She began her note by writing, "So the last 8 months have been incredibly difficult- to put it mildly. As if loosing my father to Cancer was not enough. 8 months back I got diagnosed of stage 4 oligo metastatic Cancer." However, she emphasised that this post is "not" about pain, but about "love and strength".
"It can't get worse than this. A 70yr old mother and 9 year all daughter .. both totally dependent on me. But in the darkest moments, I discovered an extraordinary kind of love, the kind that shows up, holds space, and never lets you feel alone," she continued. The actress added that she found amazing friends who supported her during her tough time, "I found it in my amazing friends and my family, whose unwavering support, brought, genuine smiles to my face, even on the hardest days. In a world racing towards AI and robots, it's the irreplaceable compassion of real, passionate humans that is saving me. It is their empathy, their messages, their presence - their humanity - that is bringing life back."
She concluded her note by writing, "Cheers to female friendships, the sisterhood that showed up for me with fierce love, deep empathy, and unstoppable strength. You know who you are - and I am endlessly grateful."
Celebs send love and strength to Tannishtha Chatterjee
Soon after she dropped her post, her industry friends flooded the comment section with encouraging words. Ali Fazal wrote, "You rockstar you. We all rooting for you.. nothin in this world thats stronger than you.. you know that better .. you rockstar you. (aah man my rhyme sucks today… but hey... we love you...)" Dia Mirza wrote, "We love you Tan Tan. You are our very own warrior princess." Sandhya Mridul wrote, "Ohhh Tiger Tan! We got you. And you had us you khaleesi! Love only always ♥️ (eyes on Pulitzer pls)". Konkona wrote, "You are just incredible and inspiring!! Love you."
Tannishtha is known for her performance in the British film Brick Lane (2007), the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best-selling novel of the same name, for which she was nominated Best Actress at the British Independent Film Awards. Her other notable roles include Academy Award-winning German director Florian Gallenberger's film Shadows of Time, starring Prashant Narayanan, Irrfan Khan, and Tillotama Shome. She has also won a National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for her performance in Dekh Indian Circus.
Published By : Niharika Sanjeeiv
Published On: 25 August 2025 at 08:45 IST