Springing from Cancer to Forging a Wellness Enterprise

Tu Jhoom: A Compassionate Guide Through Cancer Journeys

When Asheema (names changed) was diagnosed with 3^rd Stage breast cancer, she felt besieged. She had suffered through a heart-related health issue and a broken relationship. Moreover, she was a breadwinner and a caregiver to a dysfunctional family. Somewhere along the way, she had lost an intuitive feel for her body. Dosing on sleeping pills to tide through restless nights, her daytimes felt groggy. Cancer felt like a final blow. This is where Tu Jhoom Foundation, a platform founded by Sujaya Mohan Walia stepped in. Addressing her sleep with Yoga Nidra techniques, coaxing her gut health with childhood comfort foods, Walia and her team were empathetic and cool-headed, making her untenable situation way more tolerable.

Or take Simran, a fitness enthusiast who obsessed about her foods and workouts. When struck by a malignant tumor, she kept probing her past, wondering what she did wrong. Gently shifting her from a “blame model” to a proactive solutions approach, Tu Jhoom not only aided her daily choices, but also altered her mindset.

It helps that Sujaya has been a cancer survivor. When she assures her clients that light-filled after-lives are possible, it doesn’t feel like a hyperbolic take. After all, she seems to embody the laughs and energy that she helps folks reclaim. She doesn’t underplay the struggle, but through a rough and fraught journey, Tu Jhoom holds their hands, listens, proffers advice and imparts techniques that can make all the difference.

An Idyllic, Outdoorsy & Syncretic Childhood

Growing up in Ranchi, when it still possessed a cool hill-station clime, Walia recalls a bucolic childhood. Romping outdoors with her three brothers and friends, she cycled and climbed trees and tore through the neatly manicured gardens that made up the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) colony, where her father headed the hospital as its Chief Medical Officer.

Her own home was markedly bicultural. Her mother’s British, and her father’s from U.P. They had met at a hospital in the UK, when he was a medical student and she a radiographer. “Theirs was a typical hospital romance,” says Sujaya. But inside the SAIL colony, she never felt out of place. Friends were from Nigeria, Russia, Germany or India. Being multicultural was commonplace, rather than distinct.

When it came to religion or rituals, the kids were allowed to adopt their own beliefs. While her Mom was a practicing Catholic and her Dad a non-practicing Hindu, all four attended a Catholic school. Today Walia subscribes to a higher power, but not to the dogma or rituals of any particular tradition. “The face of my faith might be that of Jesus Christ, but I often have Siva mantras or Buddhist chants on loop.”

Given the antecedents of both parents, and her father’s position at the hospital, dinner table talk often swirled around medical topics – like how a heart attack was thwarted, or a liver scarred. Later, she reflects, such a matter-of-fact approach to various conditions might have primed her to handle her own diagnosis with relative calm.

Discovering Her Passion for People

The environs also offered the psychological buffering of a small town, where everyone knew everyone, where teachers mingled socially with students and their parents. Moving from an all-girls school to a co-ed for the 11^th and 12^th, and granted complete autonomy by her parents, she picked History, Political Science and Economics.

She had determined by then that she wasn’t interested in Science, though she wonders now if her choice had been influenced by humdrum teachers. Because at midlife, she’s completely riveted by Science, soaking up everything she can: from the makeup of the human body to the quirks of quantum physics. 

After her 12^th Standard, she was admitted to the prestigious Lady Sriram College (LSR) as a Political Science Honors student. Somehow, the subject felt desultory. Alongside, she had attempted the entrance exam into Hotel Management. When her admission was confirmed, she moved to the more practical field, relishing the fusion of hands-on learning with real world experience.

After her three-year degree, she joined the Taj Group, gleaning the mechanics of juggling diverse customer demands. In her five years there, she realized she excelled at people management, an aspect she could leverage in other sectors. Like with a London-based HR Training and Recruitment firm, where she spent her next five years, while setting up their Bangalore and Delhi offices.

Moving to Corporate Communications in the development sector, she interacted with Ministries that handled women, children, health and education. Communication with government employees entailed a different approach: “It taught me to become street smart.” Thereafter, accompanying her family to a 7 to 8 year stint in South India, she worked on projects and consulting assignments, while also handling her kids’ school moves and anchoring the household.

A Life-Changing Diagnosis

Returning to Gurgaon, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 41. Right before, she recalls feeling on point when it came to her health and fitness. She was eating well, exercised regularly, did not drink or smoke. Ironically, she had just returned from an intensive week of Yoga at Rishikesh. When visiting her parents at Ranchi, she was flummoxed by a lump on her breast. When she showed it to her doctor Dad, his first question was: “How long have you had it?” As far as Sujaya knew, it had just popped into being. Acting on his expert hunch, she visited her Gurgaon doctor, who sensed right away that this wasn’t some dismissible muscle swelling: “That was a bit of a shocker because I felt fabulous.”

Further tests confirmed malignancy. Fortunately, all that dinner talk, and her own parents’ phlegmatic response helped her stomach the news more easily. Moreover, many folks turned up – her in-laws, members from her extended family, her parents. Their chattering presence subdued her nerves.

Getting through the standard treatment – surgery, chemo, radiation – was facilitated by a “beautiful set of doctors.” And her own resilience, a character trait braided by her stoic parents: “We don’t get very easily shaken by stuff.” To add to it, her husband was helpful and unshaken. Then there was the ongoing support of friends: “There wasn’t any taboo about sharing it.” Even folks who were remotely connected with her knew what she was wading through.

The Incredible Support of Family and Friends

On some occasions, friends from Bangalore would fly down to spend a week with her, post chemo. “I would just howl into their laps for a couple of hours, and the next minute, we would be ballistic, laughing over something.” A huge advantage in her journey was that she had all these people rally around her.

There were times, when the physical changes – the weight loss, the baldness – would make her feel like an alien person. Right through, she was determined to do this “on her terms.” Her boys were about 8 and 10 years old then, and at one point, her younger one asked her to come to class with a cap on. So she had someone send her a stylish beanie. She also thinks her kids absorbed lessons from this. That life wasn’t going to be painless or uncomplicated at all times. They also learned that if they ever went through something, they had folks around them, who would prop them up when needed.

Offering Beanies with Insights – On Her Terms

One day in the hospital room, she was on her bed, with the chemo needle piercing her vein. Donning her beanie and a noticeably carefree expression, she attracted glances from a woman in a neighboring bed. She wanted a beanie too and Walia offered to organize one. But it wasn’t just the beanie. The lady remarked that Sujaya seemed remarkably chill with all the aggravating pokes and drips.

That’s when it struck Walia that there are many gaps in the cancer journey. “There are these huge areas where support is needed in crazy ways, and it’s just not there.” Getting women beanies was a start. But it wasn’t enough. Cancer patients were overwhelmed with internet advice, tips from well-meaning relatives, doctor diktats – and they were often confused about what to eat, how to move, what to touch, when they could receive visitors (or not), when to rest or work: “There’s so much information, you don’t know how to process it.”

Sujaya knew she was very fortunate to have her doctor father to bounce stuff off. She could discuss drugs with him, and actions to shrink side effects. She charted her own food, exercise and sleep routines. But she sensed how the bewildering array of meds and treatment protocols could terrify others. The medical system was not equipped to handle the anxiety and confusion that accompanied the journey.

Moreover, once the treatment was done, there wasn’t any structured survivorship plan. When patients were feeling depleted and edgy, they were told to wait it out. Psychologically, Walia observes that the cancer really hits you then: “Till that stage you’re inundated with blood tests, hospital visits and scheduled rests. You don’t have time to think. Later, when your energy has been drained, and you’re bald, and unsure if you’re cancer free, you go through an intensely stressful phase.”

Starting “On My Terms” to sell beanies and trendy headscarves, she also worked on counseling patients. Tying up with hospitals like Medanta, Max Healthcare and Apollo, she conducted workshops and forged a cancer support group. The message struck a chord when Sujaya, who had gone through the journey, testified to her full recovery.

Re-educating Herself on Medicine, Herbals and the Human Body

Keen to expand her own knowledge, she also turned to books and courses. After completing courses on Yoga, NLP, meditation, herbalism she started Sue’s Yogi Kettle, creating herbal infusions to optimize wellbeing. She learned to appreciate strengths in indigenous systems, including Ayurveda. She also studied nutrition, and “how food interacts with body chemistry and how we can use it to return to our natural rhythms.”

Forging Tu Jhoom To Help Cancer Survivors and Others

Wanting to persist with cancer recovery and overall wellness, she created Tu Jhoom. The platform runs two programs – Diagnosis to Discharge, and then Discharge to Infinity. With the second program, they help you restructure your life to extend beyond “survivorship into thriving.” As Sujaya puts it, this goes beyond being cancer free. It’s about embracing “health, vitality and a whole new confidence in the self.” She intends to make it joyful, a vibrant dance: “That comes from shifting the mindset from fear to faith.” She plans to leverage technology and other new-age tools invented since her own episode.

She keeps at her learning, eager to imbibe ideas from the latest research. She admits, at this stage, that she prefers dwelling with her books and courses rather than attending a Diwali Card Party game. “I think that’s a phase,” she smiles. She’s also tied up with domain experts to support clients on various aspects: exercise, psychological support, nutrition or even just companionship. She has found a huge emotional component tied to women’s health. For women who consider themselves a central pillar inside a family setup, she encourages them to “refill their own cups before filling that of others.”

Since food is a critical pillar, she encourages women to consider gender differences when it comes to nutritional needs. As instances, she observes, women need a lot more iron during their menstruating years. Or specific fat to prevent brain fog during menopause. She notices that many young women are rapidly succumbing to fad  diets, some of which can impact functionality.

With regard to movement, she emphasizes that intense sessions at the gym are insufficient. Human beings are designed to keep moving through the day, and unfortunately with sedentary jobs, most folks sit for too long. She asks people to walk to stores, to climb up and down stairs, or just stride over to get their coffees: “Hang your laundry, make your bed, clean your room – it’s all movement.”

Dancing Through Life and Various Crises

Even with autoimmune diseases, which women are apparently getting at four times the rate of men, she recommends personalized nutritional approaches and exercise regimes to stave off such conditions. Right now, Tu Jhoom extends its expertise to all women, not just to those who’ve experienced cancer.

They also work with organizations to ensure that employees post-cancer are reintegrated into workplaces optimally. Over time, she has found doctors who champion their holistic, patient-empowering approach.

They now have clients across India – in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Calcutta. At this point, their in-person programs are in Delhi, but they do plan to expand into other cities. Since Sujaya is fierce about guarding her own time – for research and self-study and her own practice – she intends to build a team to expand physical sessions.

As Walia puts it on an Instagram post, where she’s resting against sun-drenched rocks: “Nature’s most profound lessons often come from unexpected places. These wildflowers, thriving among rugged crags, remind our bodies to find light, seek nourishment and bloom despite the odds. This is the heart of recovery – not just surviving but finding unexpected beauty in our journey.”