Arij Fatyma is a renowned Pakistani television actress and a digital influencer with a strong Instagram following of 1.7 million. She is praised for her natural acting in hit dramas like Tere Liye, Hassad, Kis Din Mera Viyah Howe Ga 2, Yaar e Bewafa, Aik Pal, Hiddat, Ishq Parast, and Teri Ulfat Mein. Arij Fatyma recently fought cancer with bravery. She often shares her cancer journey and struggles.

Recently, Arij Fatyma appeared on Hafiz Ahmed’s podcast, where she talked about her cancer in detail.

Talking about it, Arij Fatyma said, “I went to the clinic to check my pregnancy, thinking if I’m pregnant again. They sent me back saying, ‘come after 7’ weeks. I came back, and she said, ‘in the tester it is positive, but nothing is showing in the ultrasound. It is said to be a blighted ovum. So basically it’s defective, and now you have to make two decisions: either delivery, abortion pills, or operation. She recommended a Christian clinic as well. I then took the pills, but before that I had gone to the water park. It could be dangerous because I had a big cancer sac in my ovaries as well. I only had acne on my chin and abdominal pain. After a week, I had felt mild gastric pain and bleeding. It was known to me that I would bleed after the pills, like it happens after birth but I had another gut feeling to get my ultrasound done again.”

She added, “We had Eid holidays and get togethers lined up so I went shopping and bought milk, this was the first time I shopped without a cart, and when I held milk bottle, I started bleeding so badly that my clothes were all soaked. People even thought that a miscarriage was happening. I reached back home; my husband was home, and he took me to the hospital. There was a nurse who didn’t do her proper homework as she couldn’t detect my tumor saying it’s just an infection. I had a D&C which was painful. I got an update from the hospital which said that I might have a rare cancer. I got so scared and shocked. I started crying. This cancer can happen years after pregnancy. I only had gastric pain. I called my brother and grandmother in pain.”

Talking about the treatment, she said, “I got my CT scan to check if the cancer had not spread. We reached the hospital in an emergency. Thankfully, it didn’t spread. The uterus was removed, after which I also had light chemotherapy because it was very dangerous and the cancer could spread anywhere. The day I got my CT scan, it was Eid day. I was lucky to have a Pakistani doctor from Karachi. The sac they removed was like a three-month pregnancy; it could have burst at any time.”