The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Several top oncologists of India have released notes, urging people not to rely on unproven remedies following claims by former cricketer and politician Navjot Singh Sidhu that remedies such as neem, lemon juice, turmeric and cinnamon helped cure his wife’s breast cancer.
Following Sidhu made the claims at a media conference last week, the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) which is the country’s leading cancer hospital along with over 262 current and former oncologists of TMC said in separate statements that there is no evidence to support Sidhu’s claims, reported The Telegraph Online.
“We urge the public to report to an appropriate healthcare facility if there are symptoms of possible cancer and, if diagnosed with cancer, to take evidence-based treatment advised by trained physicians,” the TMC said in a statement.
“While research is ongoing for some of these products, there is no clinical data to recommend their use as anti-cancer agents. We urge the public not to delay their treatment by following unproven remedies, but rather consult a doctor, preferably a cancer specialist,” a TMC alumni statement cautioned the public against the claims.
Earlier, Sidhu had claimed that dietary changes including the elimination of sugar, milk products, refined oil, wheat and refined wheat, and the use of lemon juice, turmeric, cinnamon, neem leaves, gooseberries and quinoa had helped his wife beat stage four cancer.
Following criticism from the medical fraternity, Sidhu released a video statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (November 25) and said that the “diet plan” should be seen as a facilitation of treatment and has been prepared after consultation with doctors.
Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who herself is a doctor, said that she had benefitted from the dietary changes.