Navi Indran Pillai: The Woman Who Defeated Cancer Twice

Vaishnavi Indran Pillai or better known as Navi has been creating waves across the globe. Her fight story and a photo series called ‘The Bold Indian Bride’ was the catalyst of the wide spread recognition.

Overnight, media giants like BBC, The Logical Indian, Times of India were raving about her incredibly inspiring story. To achieve greatness, Navi has been through the depths of adversity and prevailed victoriously. Navi was first diagnosed with breast cancer at the tender age of 22. While her peers were torn between selecting colleges and planning their life ahead, Navi was hospital bound, receiving highly potent treatment and fighting for her health. She quickly went into remission and moved to Australia to pursue her higher education. Navi is an engineer in the male-dominated oil and gas industry and she braved through many shortcomings.

In 2017, Navi was again handed the diagnosis of cancer, this time in Stage 4 (terminal stage) as it had metastasised to her liver and spine. She once again braved through potent cytotoxic drugs to treat her condition. Within 6 months, she was completely cancer free. After her miraculous journey, Navi now works with the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) to empower other cancer patients with their fight.