Noted Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, is suffering from cancer..
He made the disclosure at a media briefing alongside the hustle-bustle of the shooting for the movie ‘Manam’ at Annapurna studios here on Saturday. The actor has explained that on October 8, he was admitted to a hospital after he had a severe bout of stomach ache. The doctors after examining him told that there were cancerous cells in his body. However, he was reluctant to mention the type of cancer. “The doctors told me that they have discovered cancerous cells in my body,” the actor said.
Nageswara Rao said he was making the disclosure to put an end to speculation about his health.. “Till now only my family members knew about this. As I have not made any announcement on my health, there were all kinds of rumours doing rounds,” he said.
He urged his fans and well-wishers not to get depressed and not to visit him or call him over phone. He assured them that he has been under the guidance of the best Oncologists. “ It takes enormous courage to reveal this and I am sure with your support, I can face the cancer. I hope I can hit a century with your blessings,” the actor said.
Though he has cancer, proliferation of cancer cells has been quite slow because of his advanced age. “ Had I contracted cancer at an early age, proliferation of cancer cells is quite fast,” he said.
In his career, he said he had faced many challenges. “During the initial days of my career, there were times when I felt like committing suicide with adverse reports appearing in the media about me. But I gave up all those thoughts and developed a positive attitude which I am still following,” he reminisced.