Saba Ali Khan, the jewellery designer sister of Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan, has spoken candidly about the day she learned she had a brain tumour. She was just 27.
Saba, also known as Saba Pataudi, has largely stayed away from the limelight. She shared her story in a recent conversation with her sister Soha on the actor's podcast, All About Her. The episode, which also featured neurosurgeon Dr Mazda Turel, focused on brain tumours and what it takes to keep the brain healthy.
Saba said the diagnosis came out of nowhere. She had no early symptoms and no health condition she believes could have led up to it. The first sign was a sudden faint. Saba said, “It happened very suddenly. I didn’t have any pre-symptoms or any conditions that I think led up to it. One day, I went out and thought the problem was with my stomach, which has always been a sensitive point for me. I thought I had eaten or drunk something that hadn’t agreed with me. I suddenly fainted. I could feel myself becoming very uncomfortable, so I turned to a friend and said, ‘I don’t think I’m quite okay. Maybe we should head home.’ We were about to go out, but suddenly everything went blank. When I regained consciousness, I had already fallen on the road, just outside the building.”
An MRI followed, and its results left her stunned. As she described it, she was perfectly fine one day and was told the next that she would need brain surgery. She also spoke about the emotional toll of the weeks that followed, as she tried to absorb the news and prepare herself for an operation at such a young age.
Saba underwent surgery in 2006, around six months after her diagnosis. One report says the growth was initially thought to be a colloid cyst and was later identified as a pilocytic astrocytoma, though that detail has not been widely confirmed. “I would suddenly find myself crying without knowing why. You are trying to process news that you never expected to receive. What happened to me came with absolutely no warning,” she added.
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