After brain tumour, surgery and life support, Tania Brishti returns to acting following a 10-month break

Television actress Tania Brishti has been through a difficult 10 months marked by a brain tumour, surgery, radiotherapy and life support. After the long break, she has recently returned to shooting.

Doctors in Chennai, India, at one stage told Tania that she might live only another four and a half to five years. Overcoming all of that, she is now gradually recovering.

In a recent interview, Tania Brishti spoke about her illness, treatment and return to acting. She said her physical condition is now much better than before. She is able to eat normally, do light exercise and carry on with everyday tasks.

After the surgery, however, she suffered for a long time from dizziness, vomiting and physical weakness. Having come through that period, she is now able to stand in front of the camera again.

Tania has returned to acting through the drama 'Ongshidar', directed by Iksan Roni. She plays the character Sumi, who becomes involved in a conflict with her uncle over family property after her father's death.

The actress said being away from shooting had left her mentally broken. She considers her colleagues to be like her own family, and she is happy to be back on set.

Tania is not yet fully recovered, however. Despite the doctors' initial reluctance, she obtained permission, at her request, to work in one drama. She still has two more months of chemotherapy remaining. Once that treatment ends, the latest condition of the tumour will be checked through MRI and CT scans.

Her illness began last December, during the shooting of a drama, when she developed a severe headache. She worked for four straight days despite the pain. On the fifth day, severe vomiting began and she was taken to hospital. The next day, tests detected a tumour in her brain.

Although there was initially hope of recovery through surgery, an oncologist at MGM Hospital in Chennai told her she might live a maximum of four and a half to five years. The news left her mentally shattered.

Later, during a second surgery, her physical condition deteriorated further, and at one point she had to be put on life support. During that hard time, besides her mother and sister, colleagues including Mosharraf Karim and Niloy and producer Ali Bashir, along with many others from the drama world, kept in touch with her.

Tania Brishti, who began her acting career in 2012, says she now wants to rebuild her career afresh.