Shaunak Sen reveals cancer battle and recovery

Mumbai: Shaunak Sen, the director of Oscar-nominated documentary "All That Breathes", said he is cancer-free after being diagnosed with a “malignant tumour in his kidney” last year.

The filmmaker shared a health update on his official ‘Instagram’ account alongside a few pictures of him from the hospital bed and his peers from the industry who visited him including Mira Nair, Tillotama Shome and others.

“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 tumour in the kidney. Utter bolt from the blue,” Sen wrote.

The director further said he underwent surgery in December, which was successful.

“No kidney-related symptoms, no hereditary history, no big history of drinking/smoking. Urgent surgery was advised. On the 26th of 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,” Sen said.

While most people celebrated Diwali, Christmas and New Year with family and friends, the director found himself grappling with his health in the hospital.

“The accidental discovery was a blessing in disguise - it was caught very early at a low-grade stage. Recovering since and regaining strength,” he said.

Sen’s movie 2022 “All That Breathes” was nominated for ‘Best Documentary Feature’ at the 95th Academy Awards in 2023.

It won the ‘World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary’ at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.