Cancer is a devastating disease, and never more so than when it strikes a young woman in the prime of her life. This girl is inspiring thousands of sufferers with her positive attitude and zest for life. Cancer taught her a valuable lesson—to love life.
Vaishnavi Indran Pillai, best known as Navi on her Instagram, knows what it’s like to fight for your life. At 28, the Indian fashion model, from Shah Alam in Malaysia, has undergone chemotherapy as well as other bouts of treatment for metastatic breast cancer that was first diagnosed five years ago. At that time, she was in the prime of her life, fresh out of university, and ready to make her mark in the world.
“I just wanted to get treated and get on with my life. I wanted to live a normal life like my friends.”
She was declared cancer-free in 2015 after she survived a round of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, in July 2018, an annual checkup revealed that nodules had appeared on her liver and spine—the cancer had returned.
Severe side effects from a total of six courses of chemo were tough. Losing her hair was one side effect, and something very difficult for her to come to terms with. “I’d just build my life up again and so it felt like another bomb had dropped. Why did it come back? I started to blame myself. What did I do wrong? I cried. A lot,” she said.
“I was lost, and went through a period of depression. But somehow I found the strength to fight. I think in our darkest moments, we find that inner strength that is within us,” Navi added.
Her recent photo series titled “Bold Indian Bride” has inspired thousands. With her bewitching beauty, she demonstrated that with or without hair, women can indeed look and feel beautiful. The photographs depict Navi as an Indian bride, and were taken by photographer Celes Gerard. It wasn’t long before they went viral on Instagram, and it’s not hard to see why.
Navi said she is thankful to have learned to appreciate life through her journey, and hopes to inspire others. “As a cancer survivor, I dreamt of the day I would marry the love of my life. Dreamt what it is like to look like a bride, to feel like a bride. Having gone through cancer treatments (chemotherapy, etc.), losing my hair was by far the hardest thing I ever had to go through,” she said.
“Believe we can, believe in God and believe in yourself. Love yourself and surround yourself with positivity and everything will fall into place.”
With such a positive outlook and great attitude towards life, Navi is sure to motivate others going through cancer treatments, or any other suffering, and inspire them to look forward to the future with hope.
