Vijay calls himself a ‘cancer-thriver’ after facing colon cancer since 2001, diagnosed soon after turning 40. Following successful surgery, he opted against chemotherapy and embraced a holistic and integrated approach to minimize his chances of recurrence. Twenty-three years later, he remains cancer-free and considers himself a better person. “Cancer healed me,” he says.
Vijay pioneered cancer coaching in India and has trained and certified 13 coaches, whom he calls ‘Cancer Sherpas,’ to deliver a structured ‘Thriver’ coaching program for individuals and families facing the challenges of cancer. He is scaling up his organization, ‘Cancer Awakens,’ with the vision: “Many millions must survive; one million must thrive.”
He and his wife, Nilima, co-developed their unique holistic and integrative approach to cancer and shared it in their book My Cancer Is Me: The Journey from Illness to Wholeness, published by Hay House in 2013, with a Spanish edition released in 2016.
Vijay has led various cancer-related initiatives, both online and on the ground, for which he was recognized with the ‘Cancer Victor’ award by the V-Care Foundation in 2008. His inspiring story and work have been widely covered by leading media, and he is a sought-after keynote and motivational speaker on cancer and leadership.
From a preventive standpoint, Vijay recently launched the unique ‘Stress-to-Swaasthya’ program for workplace well-being, targeting corporate audiences. Workplace stress is a major issue for many, especially in the post-COVID environment. The structured program provides a range of simple, actionable, and fun tools!
In his first career, spanning 25 years, he worked in various leadership positions for a multinational advertising agency (Ogilvy & Mather) and lived all over the world. He then embarked on a second career of 20 years as a ‘Transitions Coach,’ working closely with CEOs and leadership teams in blue-chip companies across multiple industries in India and abroad. “Reducing the suffering caused by cancer” is how he describes his swan song.
URL: www.cancerawakens.com; www.stresstoswaasthya.com
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