Raghbir Singh Brar
Faridkot
Email:[email protected]
As most of the cancer patients are allegedly being looted by the quakes and charmers at many places,The Punjab Express tried to spoke at length about cancer on most concerned topic about it with Dr Manjit Jaura,former senior consultant oncologist AIIMS,now at Pragma hospital in Bathinda.
The Genetically Modified products are also a major issue.. Now most of the products are genetically modified.
Excerpts from the interview:
Can it be cured or treated by magic remedies or some other way as claimed on social media platforms etc?
Dr Manjit Jaura:There is nothing like magic remedies that could work.Scientifically it does not stand anywhere.Then the government need not have opened so many hospitals.Even after the research on so many years, we are still unable say what is its basic.There are targeted medicines,multimodality approach from patient to patient for treatment and how can quakes treat it without understanding it blindly with single approach?It is like a chameleon.If you target one thing, it affects others.
Then what is the approach of treatment to it?
Dr Jaura:There is who to what apprach.It depends upon the stage of cancer, patient and then it is decided whether there should be medicines, chemotherapy or radiation.It is multimodality approach.It is also based on the tumour biology and sage of cancer.No single remedy or approach works on a patient.It is said that every cancer is unique,every patient is unique, so one approach does not work at any stage.So how can you say that you can treat it with a similar thing, like charm or hathola?
What are the main causes behind it?
Dr Jaura:Basically it is a DNA mutation.when it starts, it disturbs the chain of things.There are many more things which happen adversely.
Is water or air pollution responsible for it?
Dr Jaura:Not only water, air or other pollution, We now call it environmental pollution.Earlier,it was said that it is tobacco related or something like that.But now what we are feeling, is that it is environmental pollution as a whole.
Then there is lifestyle,ie, eating and living habits, such as lack of exercise.Use of stored or preserved food and other bad eating habits.
The Genetically Modified products may also be a cause. Now most of the products are genetically modified. You alter the basic gene of that crop etc,maybe for faster growth.It is unstable.If this gene breaks down into our body and attaches to our cell, it starts functioning unstably.So the GM products are a major issue.
Then there is a cocktail of pesticides.when one pesticide is tested in the lab, then its half life is determined after which it starts breaking down. But when multiple insecticides are used, they get interacted and no one knows what happens to them afterwards. It becomes unsafe.
What about charm or miracle remedies?
Hatholas(perform a charm by hand) or some other pathies cannot treat it. The therapies are there,but they are immunity modulators.In the past, Mr Navjot Sidhu had also given a statement about the alternative diet adondaning healthy diet. It was contradicted by medical experts.Actually, cancer patients need a very healthy diet,rich in calories and protein.
At which stage it is detected?
Dr Jaura:Actually,60 to 70 percent patients come to us in the advanced stage,even some people continue to ignore it after diagnosis too.There are some misconceptions about it that it will spread after needling/surgery the tumour,but actually,it has already metastatic in the body.The cancer cells breaks down into bloodstream and may form tumours at other body parts.At the later stage, curative rate declines and expenses of treatment increased.
What is the effective way to treat or prevent it?
Dr Jaura:Though the government is doing enough to provide its treatment, but due to the higher population, the resources for treatment are not sufficient.Thus,prevention is much better in countries like ours.
For example, we need at least 1500 radiation machines, so far,only about 650 are installed,some about 700 are in process.
Besides one should adopt healthy lifestyle,avoid fast and preserved food, Tabaco,alcohol or other drugs.Clean environment is the responsibility of all.People need not run away from it fearfully, they should rather get timely diagnose it and consult the doctor.Timely diagnosis can assure one good and longer life.
