After facing criticism over promoting naturopathy and specifically autophagy as a cancer treatment on social media, Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre has clarified she only shared her ‘experience and learning as a cancer survivor’, and doesn’t claim to be a doctor.

It all started when Heptologist Cyriac Abby Philips, popular as The Liver Doc on X, slammed Bendre for promoting naturopathy and a study on autophagy for healing cancer via social media, and reminded her that it was chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery that helped her recover from stage 4 metastatic endometrial cancer.

This is what Bendre had posted about autophagy.

The Liver Doc wrote on X that she expected better from her being a ‘celebrity cancer survivor.’

Here’s what the liver expert wrote:

“Dear Ms. Bendre, as a clinician sub-specialist treating a multitude of cancer patients daily, I expected better from you. Cancer-survivors, especially celebrity cancer-survivors are an important asset/ resource for cancer patients and their families when it comes to science based, rationalistic and logical therapeutic journeys which help improve outlook towards cancer diagnosis, care and prevention. You are not helping here, by promoting quackery,” a part of his long X post read.

“I repeat, your cancer went into remission after chemotherapy, radiation and surgery at an advanced cancer treatment hospital. Not because of Naturopathy. Not because of autophagy. Because you have the option (and privilege) to opt for the best treatments from scientific practice to help you,” the post added.

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How Sonali Bendre responded

The actress clarified that her post was coming from the space of being a cancer survivor and she never claimed to be a doctor. She also emphasized that she isn’t a quack either.

Here’s what she wrote:

“I have never claimed to be a doctor, but I am certainly not a quack either. I am a cancer survivor, someone who has lived through the fear, pain, uncertainty, and rebuilding that the disease brings,” she wrote on X.

She further added that everything she had ever spoken about had been from her experience and her learning. She reiterated that she explored autophagy after thorough research and medical guidance.

“As I’ve repeatedly said, no two cancers are the same and no treatment path is identical. One of the many protocols I personally explored, after thorough research and medical guidance, was autophagy. It made a difference for me them and continues to do so today, for me,” she wrote.

“What truly matters is open, respectful dialogue. We don’t all have to agree, but we should avoid dismissing one another simply because we lean toward different approaches. Each person must choose what feels right, safe and empowering for them. I will always share my journey with honesty and humility, never as a prescription, but as a lived experience,” she added.

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The Liver Doc’s clarification

After Sonali Bendre’s post, Dr Cyriac Abby Philips clarified that he didn’t intend to call the actress a quack, but was instead trying to say that her naturopath is one.

Calling her a victim of “big claims, zero evidence” pseudoscientific practices such as Naturopathy, Dr Cyriac said that he wasn’t trying to ‘victimize the actress’.

“Sonali Bendre is not a quack. The Naturopath she is taking advice from is a quack,” he wrote.

“Sonali Bendre, like many others before her and many more after her, are victims of “big claims, zero evidence” pseudoscientific practices such as Naturopathy.

The whole point is not to victimize Ms. Sonali, but to focus on the aspect that education does not equate to intelligence and intelligence does not equate to rationality.

We need to be rational humans so that we can make logical conclusions based on evidence, not experience or anecdotes.

Critical thinking skills must be taught in schools instead of prayers and poems so that no Naturopath and such scammers take our children for a ride in the future, like majority of our adult population is going through now.” he wrote.