3 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 8, 2026 07:30 pm IST
Legendary actor and politician Vinod Khanna breathed his last in April 2017. While he died of bladder cancer, a little-known fact is that he was also diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001, which he reportedly overcame after doing weeks of breathing and meditation. His wife Kavita Khanna has revealed the details of Vinod’s cancer journey in the first video on his new YouTube channel.
“It was 2001 when Vinod was diagnosed with lung cancer. He went for his annual check-up and they saw spots on his lungs. He smoked between 40 and 80 cigarettes a day. We went to the leading MRI specialists at Bombay“And everyone said it was lung cancer,” Kavita recalls. They were told that half of his lung would be removed, but that life would go on as usual.
Kavita and Vinod Khanna kept the diagnosis to themselves and only consulted spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar before undergoing surgery. “Gurudev”, as they called him, suggested that they should consult the head of oncology at AIIMS. Delhi If you can wait a month or two and focus on the breath work. Once the head of oncology approved it, Gurudev instructed Vinod to visit the Rishikesh ashram and do what kriya sudarshan There three times a day.
“Later, we went to Germany. One night, Vinod felt a terrible pain somewhere around his shoulder. He lay in pain for two days. Then Gurudev came to check on him and then suggested that we get a doctor.
Although the lung cancer was completely cured, in 2010 he was diagnosed with a new bladder cancer. “The prognosis is that if I did everything that allopathy had to offer, there was a 25% chance that I would be alive after two years. Vinod then called Gurudev and told him, ‘I have lived a full life. And when the time comes to leave, I will be ready to leave. But I don’t want to torture my body.’ So, Gurudev asked him to come to the ashram and do that. panchkarma. Two years after he was first diagnosed, the cancer was gone. We did the scans in the United States and it disappeared,” revealed Kavita Khanna.
However, once Kavita called Gurudev to inform him of the same, his response was quite stoic. He warned Vinod Khanna to stop drinking as the actor consumed one or two glasses of alcohol every night. “A year later, I thought I was completely over it. He was still in very good health, but he started to get worse. He finally died of bladder cancer,” Kavita said. His recent account reveals that, as much as Vinod is known for his spiritual dedication to OshoIt was also Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who played a key role in his life, particularly in the last few days.