The director of Tata Memorial Hospital joined over 260 oncologists in refuting Navjot Singh Sidhu’s claim that a strict diet helped his wife beat stage 4 breast cancer. This rebuttal came after Sidhu held a press conference outside his residence in Amritsar on Thursday to announce that his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu is cancer-free.
The former cricketer said a “strict diet” helped his wife beat cancer. He added, without citing evidence, that lack of sugar and carbohydrates can kill cancer cells as he emphasised on the importance of fasting.
Elaborating on his wife Navjot Kaur’s diet as she battled cancer, Sidhu said that she consumed lemon water, raw turmeric and apple cider vinegar. After half an hour, she consumed 10-12 neem leaves and tulsi. Sour fruits and juices made from pumpkin, pomegranate, carrot, amla, beetroot, and walnuts were also part of her diet.
“She was only given water with a pH level of 7,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said, calling it the most important part of her diet.
“Unproven remedies”
262 oncologists of the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, have shared an open letter urging the public not to delay treatment and while opting for “unproven remedies” after Sidhu’s statement.
{{/usCountry}}262 oncologists of the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, have shared an open letter urging the public not to delay treatment and while opting for “unproven remedies” after Sidhu’s statement.
{{/usCountry}}The doctors’ letter was shared on social media by CS Pramesh, a thoracic surgeon and director at the hospital.
In their letter, the oncologists said there is no “high quality evidence” to support the claim that consuming raw turmeric or neem leaves could cure cancer.
“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 the cancer by not eating dairy products and sugar’, consuming haldi (turmeric) and neem helped cure her ‘incurable’ cancer. These statements have no high quality evidence to support them,” the doctors wrote.
“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.
“Cancer is curable if detected early and proven treatments for cancer include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy,” the letter said.
When told that the damage is already done, Dr Pramesh said it is the duty of everyone to “keep fighting misinformation.”