Director Shaunak Sen has revealed his secret battle with cancer. The director, best known for the Academy-nominated documentary All That Breathes, has revealed his cancer diagnosis, which was caught very early at a low-grade stage. However, now the deadly disease is out of his body.
On Sunday (Jan 19), Sen shared that “a small malignant tumour” was detected in his kidney in October 2024.
Taking to his Instagram handle, Sen penned a long note along with several photos from the hospital.
The first photo showed him lying on the hospital bed, and others showed his friends who visited him in the hospital.
One photo showed director Mira Nair and actress Tillotama Shome, who came to meet Sen while he was hospitalised.
In the long statement, Shaunak wrote, “Bit of an absurd update. October end, during a checkup for an autoimmune thing I got a shock diagnosis: a routine scan revealed a small malignant tumor in the kidney. Utter bolt from the blue. No kidney-related symptoms, no hereditary history, no big history of drinking/smoking. Urgent surgery was advised.”
Following the diagnosis, the director underwent surgery in December when a part of his kidney was removed.
''On the 26th December I had a partial nephrectomy, i.e. a part of my kidney was removed. (it was converted from robotic to an open surgery midway, so there's a dramatic Cronenbergian gash in the belly.) It was successful, the cancer is out of me. The accidental discovery was a blessing in disguise, it was caught very early at a low-grade stage. Recovering since and regaining strength. (Never had a better excuse for all acquaintances complaining about my going awol in recent months - my pujo, diwali, christmas, new years were all in a hospital room. And here's some blurry bad photos of friends who made it all tolerable, alongside the excellent surgeons).”
More about Shaunak Sen
Shaunak gained worldwide recognition through his documentary All That Breathes.
The critically acclaimed documentary has won several prestigious awards across the globe, such as the Golden Eye award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
The Delhi-set documentary was also nominated at the 95th edition of the Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature Film category.