Mumbai: The country’s largest cancer treatment hospital, Tata Memorial, is looking at the benefits of alternative medicine and yoga for its patients. The hospital has two ongoing studies — one on ayurvedic drugs and their impact on ovarian cancer patients and the other on the benefits of yoga for breast cancer patients.

Dr Sudeep Gupta, Director, ACTREC said that currently the studies are in the preliminary phase and they had meetings with the officials from the Ministry of Ayush discussing the use of ayurvedic medicines to treat cancer patients, which can help them from a relapse and side effects after chemotherapy.

“We are studying the efficacy of certain ayurvedic medications and its cure rate on ovarian cancer patients. We are also experimenting the effect of regular yoga on breast cancer patients and survivors,” he said.

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Dr Shripad Banavali, who heads the oncology department in Tata Hospital said other studies are looking at ayurvedic medication’s efficacy in controlling peripheral neuropathy (nerve disorder) and its side effect of a chemotherapy drug, while another is looking at its ability to boost immunity of cancer patients.

“We have seen certain posters outside the hospital claiming to cure cancer. So, we decided to first study them. If it helps in curing cancer, then we will decide on including them in the treatment plan,” he said.

Dr Rajendra Badwe, director, TMC said the another studies on yoga can help breast cancer patients is still underway and so far 850 patients are undergoing yoga everyday at the hospital.