Bollywood Sonali Bendre, known for Telugu movies like Khadgam and Manmadhudu, recently wrote that she followed Naturopathy (Autophagy, to be precise) when she got diagnosed with cancer. Many medical professionals from the Allopathy stream of medicine have criticized her for propagating a scientifically unproven path. Dr Nehal Vaidya wrote that Sonali forgot about modern medical care and pushed for unproven autophagy. "One of my friends that had cancer died early because he tried this Autophagy," she wrote.
Following widespread criticism from the medical community, the actress has defended her choice of treatment. She called for "open, respectful dialogue". She further wrote that we should avoid being dismissive.
Sonali Bendre was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic cancer in 2018. She received treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery, and was declared cancer-free (in remission) and returned to India in 2019 (though one source mentions 2021). The cancer was originally described as an endometrial cancer that had spread to other parts of the body.
