Need more research into traditional cures

Hyderabad: Treatment of cancer by traditional Indian systems of medicine is one of the biggest challenges Ayush doctors face. It is essential to prove that the system works and is not just a one-off success. 

As the number of cancer patients grows, particularly head, neck, cervical and breast cancers, it is important for researchers to prove the efficacy of the system with supporting documentation instead of faith, which is all patients have to go on now. 

Dr T.S. Rao, senior oncologist at Indo-American Cancer Centre, says, “We have an integrated system for the treatment of cancer. Hence we use a mix of modern medicine and therapeutic methods to treat cancer. But patients come with very bad stage of cancer and after a few years we find that they have sought alternative treatment and have become completely cancer-free. What are these treatments and how they have worked on the human body is important to understand.”

Oncologists agree that some of their patients have sprung a surprise on them when they have resorted to alternative medicines, but understanding or decoding the other systems and how they work requires proper, researched clinical results, before they can be declared effective alternative methods of treatment.

With cancer being a priority due to the large numbers of those afflicted and the huge cost of chemotherapy, there is a great deal of interest in alternative systems but these must be properly researched and treatment modules worked out.