Shark Tank India’s Kanika Tekriwal had cancer at 21, says she would be ‘dying in pain’: ’40 doctors told me that I would live for 4 days or 4 months’ | Television News
4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 6, 2026 10:45 AM IST
Shark Tank India Season 5 judge Kanika Tekriwal recently opened up about her cancer journey on the show when an entrepreneur came in to pitch their product which helps patients with chronic pain. The entrepreneur, Shivraj Sharma, from Delhi, came with his company called Wholeleaf and shared his products of pain relief, which are made of cannabidiols from Vijaya plant. He mentioned that this is a “government licensed pain relief solution that actually works.” Shivraj came in to seek Rs 50 lakh in exchange for 2.1 percent of his company, valuing it at Rs 23.8 crore.
Shivraj shared that he got introduced to this pain relief product when his aunt was undergoing her cancer treatment and they got CBD for her from abroad. Aman Gupta wondered if this was allowed in India, and Shivraj confidently said, “Of course, it’s allowed.” Namita Thapar questioned him about the legality of the product, with regard to the NDPS Act and he shared that the bud of the cannabis plant is classified as a narcotic substance, and is not allowed, but the leaves of the plant have lesser THC, and are allowed for medicinal purposes in India. He also shared that they procure leaves from state governments and they are licensed and standardised.
Kanika Tekriwal says more than the cure, pain and treatment kills cancer patients
Kanika Tekriwal then opened up about her cancer journey and revealed that she had cancer at 21 and she would be in immense pain during the treatment. “I had cancer 17 years ago. I was 21 years old and I used to get a round of chemo every 2 weeks and I used to be dying in pain. My doctor would tell my parents to get me CBD oil but it wasn’t available anywhere. By god’s grace, I am sitting in front of you with my full head of hair so I am very glad you are doing this. I think more than the cure, it’s the pain and the treatment that kills them,” she shared.
Kanika said that she “does not like allopathy” but completed her course of chemotherapy and radiation when she had cancer. “I was 21 and 40 doctors told me that you will survive for 4 months or 4 days. I then met a doctor in Mumbai and I told him, ‘We will have a drink 40 years later, now, let’s talk’,” she shared. Kanika clarified that she could not get CBD oil when she needed it as it was not available in India at the time. She said that she wants to support an Indian company which is doing this “ethically.”
Namita was quite impressed with the founder as he already has 13 clinical trials, out of which 2 were done with 50-75 patients each. She was also impressed with the findings of his trials as he is pursuing “evidence based” medicine.
Eventually, Aman, Namita and Kanika locked a deal with the entrepreneur for Rs 1.5 crore in exchange for 7.5 percent of his company, valuing it at Rs 20 crore.
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Cancer made Kanika a ‘strong person ready to face any challenge’
In an earlier chat with Rediff, Kanika shared that she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “Cancer made me a strong person ready to face any challenge. My brief yet very real brush with the concept of mortality led me to the idea that this life, that we are so miraculously granted, is to be used for dreaming bigger and achieving more. I spent my eight months of treatment analysing, planning, and structuring my vision, and I made it happen,” she said.
Kanika’s net worth is estimated at over Rs 420 crore, and she was previously listed among the richest women on the Hurun Rich List.
