262 oncologists, Tata Memorial come out against Sidhu’s claim

262 oncologists, Tata Memorial come out against Sidhu’s claim 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  25.11.2024

Mumbai/Delhi : In an effort to help a loved one, families of cancer patients often turn to alternative products, adopting dietary changes with an emphasis on haldi or neem in tandem with conventional treatment. A recent video featuring former cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has now sparked controversy, with Sidhu claiming that such home remedies helped his wife recover from breast cancer, purportedly playing down the role of scientific treatment. The sheer vitality of the video on social media has now prompted the Tata Memorial Hospital to issue an unprecedented rebuttal signed by hundreds of oncologists. 

In the video, Sidhu says, “She started her day with nimbu pani along with ‘kacchi haldi’, garlic, and then neem leaves ... then nuts, beetroot, carrot, and amla. After her operation, there was not a single cell of cancer (cyst) detected. These remedies do not require any money.” Tata Memorial Hospital’s statement is signed by 262 present and past oncologists fromTMH. It said, “These statements have no high-quality evidence to support them. While research is ongoing for some of these products, there is no clinical data currently to recommend their use as anticancer agents.” 

The statement further said, “We urge the public to not delay their treatment by following unproven remedies, but rather to consult a doctor, preferably a cancer specialist, if they have any symptoms of cancer. Cancer is curable if detected early.” Only a day prior to the statement, TMH director Dr C SPramesh took note of the vi-ral video and said in an X (formerly known as Twitter) post, “Please don’t believe and get fooled by these statements regardless of who it comes from. 

These are unscientific and baseless recommendations. She got surgery and chemotherapy that were evidence based, which is what made her cancer-free. Not the haldi, neem, etc.” Dr P K Julka, vice-chairman Max oncology, said cancer treatment should follow scientific norms. “New claims, if any, need to be proved by scientific means,” he said.