Introduction
As India faces a rising cancer burden, often affecting younger populations, there is a growing realisation that effective cancer care must go beyond medical intervention alone. On this World Cancer Day, this special coverage explores how mental health, nutrition, emotional resilience, and self-healing practices are becoming essential pillars alongside conventional oncology.
This exclusive feature brings together diverse voices shaping a more compassionate, integrative approach to cancer care in India: Dr. Rachna Chhachhi, Integrative Cancer Expert and Founder of Kindness Practice Foundation; Kiiran Patel, Wellness Cube, Mumbai; Dr. Priya Bhalla, Mental Health Coach; Dr. Ashima Narula, Psychologist and Expressive Art Therapist; Anand Iyer, AI Evangelist and Mentor; Gracious Guide Gunj, Intuitive Energy Healing Coach; Dr. Deepa Didddi, Author and Associate Professor; Prema Ganesh, Author and Wellness Advocate; PreetKanwal Kaur, Life Coach and Emotional Well-being Advocate; and Thandavarayan M, Pharmacist, Psychologist, and Healthcare Supply Chain Leader.
Together, their perspectives highlight a powerful shift, from treating disease in isolation to supporting the whole human experience of cancer, where science, awareness, and inner strength work in unison. This curated group feature is exclusively prepared by Grisu Media Arts, Mumbai, in association with YOUx Talks e-Magazine.
Dr. Rachna Chhachhi
Integrative Cancer Expert & Founder, Kindness Practice Foundation
“We work for prevention, early detection, and integrative medicine so that we can save more lives,” says Dr Rachna Chhachhi. With over 17 years of practice across 28 countries, Dr Chhachhi now leads large-scale community programmes in partnership with government bodies and corporates.
As cancer cases rise sharply in India, often affecting younger populations, integrative and preventive cancer care is gaining urgency. Medical research increasingly supports that early detection, nutrition, and mental health interventions significantly improve survival outcomes when combined with conventional treatment. On World Cancer Day, the Foundation conducted its 8th Cancer Education and Screening Camp in New Delhi, following impactful initiatives in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Haryana villages, and Kochi, with upcoming camps in Goa, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Supported under the CSR initiative of Tourism Finance Corporation of India, along with NGO partner USEA, these programmes reach underserved slums, rural communities, and humanitarian shelters.
Dr Chhachhi’s approach integrates nutrition, mental health, inflammation control, and hormonal balance alongside chemotherapy, focusing especially on breast and prostate cancer prevention. “The solution lies within us; through plant-based nutrition, stress regulation, and awareness,” she adds. Her work reinforces a vital message: the future of cancer care in India lies in compassionate prevention, informed nutrition, and community-led healing, where modern medicine meets mindful living.
Kiiran Patel
Founder, Wellness Cube, Mumbai
Kiiran Patel reminds us that the brain is a biochemical organ, not just a thinking one. We often treat the mind as if it runs on thoughts alone, as if emotions are choices and motivation is a personality trait. But the brain doesn’t operate on intention; it runs on chemistry. Every emotion we experience- calm, joy, focus, motivation, anxiety, or sadness- is the result of neurotransmitters firing, binding, and clearing in precise biochemical sequences. Neurotransmitters are not abstract ideas; they are molecules, and molecules require raw materials.
Serotonin is synthesised from tryptophan, dopamine and norepinephrine from tyrosine, GABA from glutamate, and acetylcholine from choline. These pathways are enzymatic reactions that depend on adequate protein intake, B vitamins, magnesium, iron, zinc, and healthy fats. When these nutrients are lacking, the brain doesn’t fail; it stalls. Mood becomes fragile, focus weakens, and resilience drops. Anxiety, low mood, and brain fog are often not mindset issues, but signals of an undernourished brain operating in survival mode.
Dr. Priya Bhalla
Mental Health Coach
Dr Priya Bhalla shares a powerful reminder on World Cancer Day, urging individuals to reconnect with their inner emotional and mental well-being. She emphasises that illness often begins in unprocessed emotions carried for years, silently affecting the body. “Major chronic diseases like cancer can be influenced by our mental and emotional health,” she explains, noting that neglecting self-care, movement, nutrition, and personal time weakens the body’s natural intelligence. “Acidity is often the first whisper,” she adds.
Dr Bhalla encourages people to awaken the inner healer that already exists within them. She advocates aligning one’s energy with the universe through simple daily rituals, cleansing personal spaces, practising Reiki or Pranayama, lighting candles on high-energy days like Purnima, releasing stored emotions, burning camphor, and consciously nurturing positivity. “Your inner soul, once empowered, can shield you from outer turmoil,” she says. Her message is clear: healing begins from within- mind, body, and spirit. She urges everyone to start today and remember that they are worthy of their own care.
Dr. Ashima Narula
PhD, Psychologist & Expressive Art Therapist | Founder, Therapy Palette (India & Rome)
Dr Ashima Narula emphasises that on this World Cancer Day, it is vital to recognise that cancer care extends far beyond medical treatment alone. A cancer diagnosis impacts not only physical health, but also emotional well-being, relationships, identity, and an individual’s sense of safety in the world.
Integrating psychological support, nutritional care, and self-healing practices is essential to help individuals navigate the cancer journey with resilience and dignity. Healing, she explains, can be understood as tending to a garden after a storm, where damaged areas need gentle care, while existing strengths are patiently nurtured. It is also like learning to live within a changed rhythm, where familiar aspects of life remain but require adjustment, pacing, and support. Holistic, patient-centred care allows patients, survivors, and caregivers to process distress, adaptation, and hope within a compassionate and supportive framework.
Anand Iyer
AI Evangelist & Mentor
Anand Iyer reflects on the profound role of the mind–body connection, a belief shaped deeply by his mother’s journey as a breast cancer survivor. She faced her diagnosis with quiet strength, discipline, and optimism, taking her medication on time, nourishing her body with healthy food, and refusing to let fear dominate her life. That mindset, he believes, gifted her fifteen more meaningful years.
When cancer later returned in another form, she passed away peacefully. Her journey left Anand with a lasting lesson: while medicine works on the body, mental health sustains the will to heal. Suppressed emotions and chronic stress weaken resilience, while positivity, spirituality, and emotional strength help protect and support recovery. On this World Cancer Day, he shares a simple reminder: care for your mind with the same commitment as your body.
Gracious Guide Gunj
Intuitive Energy Healing Coach & Spiritual Mentor
Gracious Guide Gunj shares insights shaped by her work at the emotional and energetic levels of healing. She observes that cancer is often not a rebellion of cells, but the result of a body holding fear for too long, unanswered questions, suppressed emotions, prolonged strain, and exhaustion waiting to be acknowledged. Fear keeps the body guarded. When reassurance and emotional safety are introduced, the body exhales and that exhale, she believes, matters deeply.
According to Gunj, mental healing does not cure cancer, but it changes the inner climate the body is trying to survive in. When nourishment becomes a conversation rather than a correction, mental strength allows individuals to stay engaged with life instead of withdrawing from it. She emphasises that healing often begins when a person feels truly heard and remembered by life itself.
Dr. Deepa Didddi
Author & Associate Professor, IILM University, Greater Noida
Dr Deepa Didddi reflects on the deep connection between mental well-being and physical health. As an educator, author, and mentor, she believes that true health begins in the mind. This conviction deepened when she witnessed her aunt’s courageous journey with blood cancer. While inspired by her resilience, Dr Didddi also observed years of suppressed emotions, silent struggles, and self-neglect behind that strength. The experience taught her how unmanaged stress and unexpressed feelings quietly impact the body. She emphasises that cancer is not only a physical illness but also an emotional and mental battle, where a calm mindset and self-awareness foster hope and inner strength.
Dr Didddi also highlights the role of mindful nutrition, viewing fresh, balanced, and nourishing food as an act of self-respect that supports recovery and immunity. By honouring both emotions and the body, she believes healing is truly empowered through awareness, compassion, and conscious living.
Prema Ganesh
Author & Wellness Advocate
Prema Ganesh believes that emotional well-being and a positive attitude toward life are essential for balanced living and long-term health. She emphasises that maintaining good mental health and nurturing a positive outlook play a crucial role in overall wellness and may help lower cancer risk. Chronic anxiety, stress, and depression can weaken the immune system, making it harder for the body to identify and repair abnormal cells.
According to Prema, a positive mindset often encourages healthier lifestyle choices, such as regular physical activity, balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and avoiding harmful habits like smoking or excessive alcohol consumption, all of which are known to support cancer prevention. While she acknowledges that mindset alone cannot completely prevent cancer, Prema views mental well-being as a powerful protective factor that strengthens resilience, supports immunity, and enhances overall quality of life.
PreetKanwal Kaur
Life Coach & Emotional Well-being Advocate
PreetKanwal Kaur believes that emotional awareness developed early in life is a powerful step toward healthier lives and long-term disease prevention. She observes that while cancer treatment often focuses on the body, the emotional roots of illness frequently remain unspoken due to the stigma surrounding mental health. From a young age, individuals are taught how to perform, succeed, and compete, but rarely how to process emotions, manage conflict, or cope with failure. As a result, many children learn to suppress their feelings early, carrying this emotional burden into adulthood as part of generational trauma.
PreetKanwal emphasises that a balanced mindset plays a crucial role in long-term well-being. When chronic stress remains unaddressed for years, the body absorbs that strain, often manifesting later as serious, silent illnesses. She strongly advocates for emotional awareness education in schools, without shame or fear, believing it is essential for prevention, resilience, and holistic health.
Thandavarayan M
Pharmacist | Psychologist | Supply Chain Leader
Thandavarayan M highlights the vital role of mental strength and nutrition in cancer recovery. He believes that recovery from cancer is not only medical, but also deeply mental and emotional. Mental resilience helps reduce stress, strengthens determination, and supports patients in staying committed to their treatment. A hopeful mindset enhances healing and improves overall quality of life.
Equally important is good nutrition. Balanced meals help strengthen immunity, repair tissues, manage fatigue, and enable the body to tolerate treatment more effectively. Together, a resilient mind and a nourished body create a powerful recovery cycle; one strengthens the will, while the other enables healing. This World Cancer Day, he reminds us that every positive belief and healthy choice brings us closer to recovery and renewed life.
Conclusion
Cancer challenges not only the body, but also the mind, emotions, relationships, and identity. As reflected by the experts featured in this World Cancer Day special, healing today is increasingly understood as a shared responsibility between medicine, mental resilience, informed nutrition, and conscious self-care.
From integrative oncology and biochemical brain health to emotional awareness, lifestyle change, and community-led prevention, these voices reaffirm a vital truth: when care becomes compassionate, informed, and holistic, survival transforms into meaningful living.
As India looks toward the future of cancer care, this collective wisdom reminds us that healing is strongest when science meets humanity, and no one is left behind. Visit: https://grisumedia.com , https://youxtalks.com
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