Affordable cancer cure

In a claim that has gone viral across social media,  cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has said his wife Navjot Kaur overcame stage-4 cancer in just 40 days through dietary and lifestyle changes comprising turmeric, neem water, and intermittent fasting. However, medical experts and oncologists have strongly refuted his claims, stressing that there is no scientific evidence supporting such remedies as cures for cancer. They have rightly warned against forgoing proven treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation in favour of unverified alternatives. Doctors, including those from Tata Memorial Hospital Alumni, clarified that Sidhu’s wife underwent standard medical treatments, and while healthy diets and lifestyle changes may complement cancer care, they are not standalone cures.

Sidhu is a well-known personality and his claims will certainly resonate with people. Promoting ‘miracle cure’ for cancer would be counterproductive, and it needs to be strongly discouraged. That said, Sidhu has brought some much needed attention to the treatment of the deadly disease. Being an expensive proposition, the treatment for cancer is not easily affordable for ordinary people. The reason that Sidhu’s claims have gotten widespread public attention is that the treatment he has suggested costs very little. So, it can certainly mislead patients and delay proper treatment, potentially worsening outcomes. If anything, this highlights a desperate need to make cancer treatment affordable.This is possible through government intervention.

There is an urgent need to make life-saving treatments more affordable and accessible to patients. In one such move,  the union government exempted three cancer treatment medicines from basic customs duty in this year’s budget. With the government data showing cancer responsible for 71% of deaths in the 30 to 69 age group and 15% of cancer patients being children and adolescents in the country, the importance of affordable cancer care can’t be overemphasized. In Kashmir too, according to official data, more than 60,000 cancer cases have been recorded in the last five years, averaging over 12,000 cases each year. So, the decision to exempt cancer medicines from basic customs duty is an important step to bring down the cost of cancer medicines. But more needs to be done to make the gruelling treatment of the disease more affordable. And this also needs the UT government to play its role.