India, Oct. 17 -- Nearly two decades ago, she beat cancer and conventions with equal fiercenes shattering diagnosis at 47 fractured her life, but Sapna Dutta fought back, emerged victorious, and was discovered as a model as she turned 50. Meet the interior designer- turned-model who fearlessly strode into the world of glamour at an age when her "friends were busy planning baby showers for their grandchildren." And she refused to shrink herself to a size S and dye her hair black, boldly opening doors to a space that was still largely unexplored in the early 2000s.

The brutal discovery that she had Stage 2 breast cancer had shaken Sapna to the core, forcing her to confront the unthinkable: separation from her mother. "As much as I wanted t...