Former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday held a press conference outside his residence in Amritsar. He announced that his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu is clinically cancer-free. He also shared how his wife defeated stage 4 cancer, metastasis.
Navjot's statements to the media included the treatment she received in government hospitals as well as the ayurvedic diet she followed. He convincingly asked people to believe that cancer can be cured with the help of treatment and a strict diet.
Directing to Sidhu's announcement, Doctors from Tata Memorial Hospital issued a joint statement and advised people to not blindly follow unproven methods to treat cancer and delay their treatments.
The statement read, "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. 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," they added.
Issued in public interest pic.twitter.com/gMuCTZmwzZ
— Pramesh CS (@cspramesh) November 23, 2024
Netizens Praise the hospital for minimising spread of misinformation
The statement received good coverage in a short amount of time on the social media platform. Netizens appreciated it and praised the alumni for standing up against misinformation and spreading the right advise among the public.
An X user commented, "Proud of the medical fraternity for always standing up, and preventing misinformation from spreading!"
A request to our patients and learned citizens to read and share!
— Dr. Datta (AIIMS Delhi) (@DrDatta_AIIMS) November 23, 2024
Misinformation about cancer treatments can be deadly!
A viral video claiming that “starving cancer” and using Ayurvedic remedies like turmeric cured cancer is spreading false hope among many!
India’s leading… pic.twitter.com/9kIaNIFaXU
Another X user slammed Sidhu's remedies backing it up with an article that said Steve Jobs denied taking medical help after his cancer diagnosis and believed he can be cured with natural remedies but later passed away due to aggressive spread of the disease.
The hospital urged the public to not delay treatment and consult a cancer specialist if they notice any symptoms.