Amitabh Bachchan, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2000, had no idea that he was suffering from the disease for eight years. The megastar, at a recently held event in Mumbai, urged people to undergo regular check-ups so that it can be detected and cured on time.
The 76-year-old, who is also a Hepatitis B survivor, admitted that 75 percent of his liver is gone and that he is surviving with just 25 percent. "I keep quoting my personal example all the time and try and propagate the idea of getting yourself detected and I don't mind saying this publicly I am a tuberculosis survivor, Hepatitis B survivor... Bad blood infusion went in and 75 percent of my liver is gone but because I was able to detect it even after a period of 20 years, when 75 percent of my liver is gone... I am still surviving on 25 percent," Big B said at NDTV's Swasth India launch.
"Then there is a cure. Even with Tuberculosis... I did not know for almost 8 years I was suffering from Tuberculosis. I keep saying that with immodesty if it can happen to me (it can happen) to anyone. Therefore if you are not willing to get yourself tested then you would never find out and there's never going to be a cure for it," he said.
In 2015, Amitabh Bachchan had revealed in an awareness video by UNICEF that his liver was damaged due to blood received from a Hepatitis B-infected person. After a serious accident on the sets of Coolie, the actor required 60 units of blood and one of the units was infected, which damaged his liver over the years. He found out about the disease years later during a routine check-up. By then, three-fourths of his liver was already damaged.
Meanwhile, senior Bachchan is back with the new season of popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati. KBC 11 premiered on a grand note on Monday, August 19. He has been hosting the show since its inception, the sole exception was season 3, which was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan.
At a recent press event, Big B said that his decision to host KBC was quite unplanned. "It was just a coincidence. The channel came about with this idea. Circumstances were such that everyone felt I should not go there (on TV) especially people from my home but I just felt that this was something new," he said, Hindustan Times reported.
