Curing cancer, the Ayurvedic way

OCTOBER 19:Last year when a hospital turned away Rajesh K Subha, a 23-year-old suffering from blood cancer, telling him that he had just a ...

OCTOBER 19:Last year when a hospital turned away Rajesh K Subha, a 23-year-old suffering from blood cancer, telling him that he had just a few months to live, he was devastated. He went home, smoked a pack of cigarettes and ate a large amount of oily food.

Concerned about her son’s deteriorating condition, his mother approached a Vaid (ayurvedic physician), Dr Sadanand Sardeshmukh. Dr Sardeshmukh, after going through Rajesh’s medical reports, did not guarantee a cure but promised to lessen the pain. Six months after his treatment began, today Rajesh goes to work. By no means is his bout with cancer over, but the will to live is back.

This high level of self-confidence was a common trait running through almost 100 patients who attended a health camp organised by Bharatiya Sanskriti Darshan Trust at Dadar today. Nearly 85 per cent of the people who approach Dr Sardeshmukh for help are those suffering from advanced stages of cancer.

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According to the annual report published by his Ayurved Hospital and Research Centre in Pune district, 35 out of nearly 100 such patients are leading a normal life. The admission into this hospital is restricted to only confirmed cases of the disease. No guarantee of cure is given. “Since this is a research project, I want to make no claims until I have collected enough data to prove them,” says Dr Sardeshmukh. But people are talking already. A woman, who undergoes chemotherapic radiations every 28 days, had problems regaining her blood count in time for the next session. With the commencement of Ayurvedic treatment, she now claims that she recovers faster.

The patients at the hospital are divided into four groups. The first comprises confirmed cancer cases who have not gone in for any treatment. These patients are treated entirely on Ayurvedic drugs. The second batch comprises mainly those with recurring cancer. They are the most difficult ones to treat, for they also suffer from various side effects of chemotherapy. The third set undergoes allopathy and ayurvedic treatment simultaneously, while the fourth group has the disease under control through earlier treatment, and look to Ayurveda as supportive treatment.

Dr Sardeshmukh concentrates not only on the physical aspect of the disease, but also tries to improve the mental health of the patient through counselling. “The doctor taught me how to live with it (cancer),” says another patient. Absence of side effects of his treatment is a major advantage.

The interesting aspect of Dr Sardeshmukh’s treatment is that he allows the patients to undergo any other form of treatment simultaneously. “As of now, I merely help such patients to cope with the effects of chemotherapy,” he says. With no complaints of any side effects from his medicines, Dr Sardeshmukh is confident that ultimately Ayurveda will provide an answer to cancer.