Writer-director and actor Ayushmann Khurrana’s wife Tahira Kashyap had recently battled breast cancer. So on National Cancer Survivors Day, she penned a powerful poem titled Scars and posted an audio clip of herself narrating the poem on her Instagram account.

“A small something I have written…. #nationalcancersurvivorsday,” Tahira wrote in her caption. In her poem, she says that scars are a reminder of the past and ‘moments of suffering that you thought would forever last’, but they are also so much more. “But hear me, there’s more to this scar, It talks also about the fight, the resilience and your invincible power. My love and respect to those who fought, The treacherous battlefield that few crossed while some got lost,” she wrote. Tahira encourages cancer survivors to proudly show off their scars, which are a testament to the ‘indomitable spirit that can’t be crushed by any fright’. She writes, “Hide not your scars my love, Show them, flaunt them, just like your bright smile, soothing to others eyes, And when you do that time and again giving people nowhere to run and hide, they will have to fall in love with your badge of honor, your prize.” In the final lines of her poem, Tahira urges survivors to love themselves and all their ‘dust, scar and grime’. “For that’s what make you, YOU, Faulty, imperfect, blemished but all true!,” she concludes.

Tahira was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and underwent a mastectomy. On an audio show My Ex-Breast, Ayushmann said that he was inspired by her strength throughout her battle with cancer and called her his ‘victorious queen’. “Even though we were together in this fight, I was always so inspired by you and I saw that you’ve become even stronger than me and this transformation was a miracle and came at the right time and it gave you the strength to face everything head on, and now you’re my victorious queen, standing in front of me,” he said.