What would you do if you were told you had just 100 days to live? For Arjun Sen, a successful marketing professional, that question was not hypothetical. At just 32, a terminal cancer diagnosis shook the ground beneath him. But instead of giving in, he chose not to quit. In this deeply personal and honest conversation, he shares how a cancer diagnosis became the start of his second life, and why he calls himself a 'cancer winner,' not a survivor.
“I want to hug that Arjun”
When Arjun Sen, Author and Mind Architect, Founder and CEO, ZenMango, first heard the words 'terminal cancer,' he felt three things: unprepared, disbelief, and denial. Life had been moving forward smoothly, and then suddenly, he was in a hospital wheelchair, being pushed around by a nurse. “I realised I had left the world of control to no control,” he said. “I refused to accept the new reality and indulged in total denial.”
Looking back now, he has immense compassion for that version of himself. “Today when I reflect, I want to hug that Arjun. I want to tell him, ‘I get it and I understand.’”
When a Three-Year-Old Becomes the Light
The early days were filled with stillness, not the calm kind: paralysis. “I put myself in a zone where time had stopped, and I was not doing anything. I just sat and stared at the clock,” he recalled. Even breathing felt like an effort.
Then came his three-year-old daughter, unknowingly delivering the wake-up call of a lifetime. “She asked me three questions: ‘What is dying?’ ‘Are you dying?’ and ‘Will you be there to dance at her wedding?’”
As he tried to answer, he heard the fear in his voice. “I started accepting the reality but more importantly, I found the true and fun purpose in life. I wanted to be there to dance at her wedding,” Sen remarked.
This shift in purpose aligns with psychological research showing that clear, meaningful goals significantly boost resilience in cancer patients, according to Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Survivor vs Winner
Arjun prefers to call himself a “cancer winner” instead of a survivor, and it’s more than just semantics. “Survival is about not losing, it’s about staying afloat. Winning is about thriving. It is fueled by a belief that ‘I can,’” said Sen.
Being a winner means celebrating every person who didn’t quit on him, every forward step, every little victory. “Today I can say with a lot of pride and a little attitude that the wins were not gifted to us, we earned it, we deserved it.”
The Mindset Shift That Changed Everything
Did this shift in language change how he saw himself? “Of course. Once a winner, always a winner,” Sen says, matter-of-factly. It brought momentum, a sense of team spirit, and a drive to move forward fear-free. “With every person who supported me and chose not to quit on me, my team grew stronger.”
Fatherhood as Purpose
His daughter not only gave him a reason to start the fight, but she became the 'why' that kept him going. “A good start is key in any journey, but it was important to stay engaged with her in the journey,” he said. Whether listening to her stories or responding to her wake-up calls, fatherhood gave him a renewed sense of presence.
Mindset as Medicine
Sen distils his coping mechanism into three words: Appreciate. Prepare. Celebrate.
- Appreciation moved me from the ‘Me’ world to the ‘We’ world.
- Prepare is a mindset of action, it means I’m never out of options.
- Celebrate every step, every win. That way I never take even one step for granted.
This framework, he says, keeps him in the mindset of not giving up. According to a 2022 study, psychological resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism consistently correlate with better health-related quality of life in cancer patients.
When Doubt Creeps In
Even the strongest people have low days. Sen is refreshingly honest: “I accept and acknowledge that I am human. They doubt and get afraid.” But instead of reacting immediately, he gives himself the grace to act on his terms. “Just getting from the ‘Me’ world to the ‘We’ world puts me back on the path not to give up.”
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25 Years Later: Still Living in the Now
It’s been more than two decades since that 100-day prognosis, but Sen still lives “one day at a time.” He doesn’t linger in the past except to retrieve lessons or moments of joy. “The stronger my presence is in the now and here, the higher my chance to be successful.”
Redefining Success and Thriving
Success, for Sen, has nothing to do with accolades or milestones. “It’s about mindset clarity,” he said. “If I can fill my mind with purpose and intent, and give 100% effort, I am successful. I cannot control the results, but I can always be someone who doesn't quit.”
Health, Now and Forever
The long-term impact of cancer has made Sen gentler with himself. “I listen to my body more, I rest more,” he says. But he’s also firm: “At no point do I allow that caring to evolve into sympathy. That weakens the mind.”
The Movie He Never Dreamt Of
His journey was turned into a film, "I Want to Talk", directed by Shoojit Sircar and starring Abhishek Bachchan. But he never saw that coming. “I never chased it. It just happened. That’s the magic of life.” More than fame, he views the film as a platform to amplify the message: “We want one more person to self-describe as a non-quitter and then one more.”
A Message for Those Facing Illness
For anyone feeling hopeless or overwhelmed by illness, Sen offers this powerful metaphor: “Life is a game. We don’t control how it will unfold or when it’ll be over. But as long as we can, we must find a way to stay in the game. Winners are always chosen among those who are still in it.”
“Don’t worry about the scoreboard. Simply live the power of one. One reason to move forward, one person to believe in you, one step forward. That is it,” he advised.
From Patient to Messenger
Though he humbly says he hasn’t stopped being a patient, “I live in a world of when cancer will come back, not if”, Sen has undeniably become a messenger of strength. “I want to show my appreciation to every person who supported me by passing it forward.”
In a world full of uncertainty, his voice cuts through with hope, humour, and heart. He’s not just defying the odds, he’s rewriting them.