Tannishtha Chatterjee on shaving head after cancer diagnosis, says it took time for her to accept: 'I had thick curly hair...'

Actor-director Tannishtha Chatterjee is bravely navigating stage 4 oligo-metastatic cancer, embracing a one day at a time approach to life. She recently shared her journey with fans on Instagram, posting a striking photo of herself with a shaved head, and opened up about the emotional and physical challenges she has faced—from coming to terms with hair loss to finding strength in her work and personal passions.

Diagnosis and decision to shave head

Tannishtha was diagnosed with cancer nine months ago. Following her second chemotherapy cycle, she decided to shave her head. She revealed that speaking to others who had faced similar experiences helped her prepare, noting that many found losing their hair demoralizing as it fell out in clumps and left the scalp patchy.


In conversation with NDTV, the actress recalled that her doctor advised her to shave her head if she wanted, so she wouldn’t be constantly reminded of her hair falling out. She chose to do so after her second chemotherapy cycle.

Coming to terms with physical changes

The actor hopes her thick curly hair will grow back. She reflected on coming to terms with the permanent changes to her body, acknowledging that as actors, appearance matters. While she hesitated to call it vanity, she admitted it took time to accept these changes.

Balancing life and quality of living

Initially, she found herself in constant discussions with her doctor, emphasizing that while she valued life, she also wanted to maintain the quality of it. She worried about being unable to pursue her passions or feeling self-conscious about her appearance. Her medical team reassured her, encouraging patience and reminding her that her hair would eventually grow back.

Emotional highs and lows during chemotherapy

Reflecting on her chemotherapy journey, Tannishtha shared that it was a mix of good and bad days. On difficult days, she felt overwhelmed and questioned the purpose of the fight, even telling her doctor she didn’t want to continue at times, adopting a “jo hoga dekha jayega” (whatever will happen, will happen) mindset.

After a few days, once she felt better, she returned to her doctor and apologized for her earlier doubts, determined to give the treatment her full effort.