Dr. Ashok Vaid has chaired Medical Oncology at Medanta Cancer Institute for over a decade, following a career that began before stem cell transplantation was standard practice anywhere in the world. We spoke with him about what's changed — and what international patients should understand about cancer care in India today.
On Four Decades of Change
"When I started, a cancer diagnosis in India often meant travelling abroad for treatment, if a family could afford it at all," Dr. Vaid explains. "Today the flow has genuinely reversed in many specialties. We treat patients from over thirty countries, using protocols that are identical to what you'd receive at a major US cancer centre — because in many cases, they are the same protocols, published in the same journals."
Why Immunotherapy Is a Turning Point
Dr. Vaid points to immunotherapy and targeted therapy as the biggest shift of the past decade. "We're no longer just treating the cancer — we're treating the specific genomic profile of a patient's tumour. That precision means better outcomes with fewer of the brutal side effects people associate with chemotherapy from decades past."
His Advice to Patients Considering Treatment Abroad
"Ask for a multidisciplinary opinion, not just a single surgeon's view," he advises. "Cancer treatment today is rarely one specialist's decision — it should involve medical oncology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology jointly reviewing your case before a plan is finalised. That's the standard we hold ourselves to, and it's a fair question to ask of anywhere you're considering."
To request a consultation with Dr. Vaid or a member of his team, visit his full specialist profile on Medova.