Indonesian celeb Marshanda’s personal struggles have been well documented over the years, and she put on a brave face when announcing to the public about more woe in her life.
The 32-year-old actress yesterday announced that she has a breast tumor through a video uploaded on her YouTube channel, Marshed. Amid some stoic existential musings in the video, she heartbreakingly expressed her wish to meet her estranged father before she dies.
Marshanda is currently in Singapore to treat her breast tumor, which she said she has had for a year. In the beginning of the video, Marshanda said that she’s sometimes in pain but she didn’t want her viewers to worry because she needs them to send her prayers and good energy.
“I want to be able to meet my father before something happens to me. I went to Singapore to find out whether I have hope for a long life or not,” Marshanda said.
The actress, who shot to fame as a child actress after starring in the sinetron (Indonesian soap opera) Bidadari (An Angel) in the early 2000s, wished that she could meet her father, Irwan Yusuf, as soon as she returned from Singapore. They haven’t seen each other in the past few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Referring to herself in third person by her nickname Chacha, Marshanda began by apologizing to her father in case she “has to go soon.”
“Papa misses Chacha, right? Chacha misses Papa too every day. I really miss you. You’re never lost, I’m never gonna be lost too. If I die, you’ll have me in your heart,” Marshanda said.
“Papa has to learn to accept if Chacha’s gone,” Marshanda said. “Because if someone’s about to die, the people left behind must learn to let go because if not, the dying person will be worried and they can’t go to the light, or to heaven, correct me if I’m wrong.”
Marshanda’s parents divorced when she was young, and she and her two siblings were raised by their mother. Irwan made national headlines in 2016 after he was found begging on the streets in South Jakarta after his second wife left him.
Irwan’s mental health had reportedly deteriorated during this time. Marshanda eventually took him away from the streets and admitted him to a mental institution for treatment.
The actress said that her bipolar disorder diagnosis, a condition she has openly talked about, was inherited from her father. It was last reported that Irwan lives in a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Malang, East Java.
Aside from her father, Marshanda also left a message to her only daughter, Sienna, whose custody was granted to her former husband, TV host Ben Kasyafani, after their divorce in 2014. She said that she’s grateful for Ben and his wife Nesya for loving their child, and that she believes that they can raise her well.
