Chandigarh: Days after cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu claimed that a strict diet helped the latter in recovering from Stage IV breast cancer, 262 oncologists of the Tata Memorial Hospital wrote an open letter, urging the public not to delay in treatment for the same. They added that the there is no high-quality evidence to support their claim.
The rebuttal by doctors came days after Sidhu held a press conference outside his home in Amritsar to claim that his wife is now cancer-free. Sidhu had claimed that a strict diet helped his wife recover from cancer. He, however, did not cite any evidence to prove his claim.
What the doctors’ letter said
Notably, the doctors letter was shared by CS Pramesh, a thoracic surgeon and director at the hospital on social media. “A video of a former cricketer describing his wife’s treatment for her breast cancer has been circulating widely on social media. Parts of the video imply that ‘starving cancer by not eating dairy products and sugar’, and consuming haldi (turmeric) and neem helped cure her ‘incurable’ cancer. These statements have no high-quality evidence to support them,” the doctors wrote.
They added, “While research is ongoing for some of these products, there is no clinical data currently to recommend their use as anti-cancer agents. 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.” In their letter, the doctor also noted that proven treatments for cancer include surgery, radiation therapy as well as chemotherapy.
Chhattisgarh Civil Society files legal case against Sidhu
Meanwhile, the Congress leader landed in a legal soup on Friday over his claims on cancer treatment. He has been served a legal notice of Rs 850 crore by Chhattisgarh Civil Society for allegedly “misleading” cancer patients with fake claims.
