Lt. Gen (R) DS Hooda’s sister, Smt. Sushma Hooda who is married to Col (R) Karmavir Singh, is a cancer patient and is eagerly waiting for a drug which has been approved in the United States.
The 2016 Surgical Strike fame Lt. Gen (R) DS Hooda requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in a medical case related to his sister Sushma Hooda.
The request was put out through Twitter at 3:53 pm on Saturday (December 18). Lt. Gen (R) Hooda posted the message “I start this tweet with admitting that I have a personal interest. @SushmaHooda is my sister, a cancer patient of several years with dwindling hope. Keeping sentiments aside approval of the new drug may give a fighting chance of survival to many like her. @PMOIndia @rajnathsingh.”
At 6:46 pm, Lt. Gen (R) Hooda put out another tweet acknowledging the immediate call he received from Prime Minister Modi. He also thanked the prime minister for such a quick and personal response.
He posted, “Received a call from @PMOIndia and spoke with PM Narendra Modi who expressed concern over the case. Truly humbled and honoured on receiving his call and his words that the case would be looked into. Proud to be an Indian and even prouder of the PMs personal intervention. Jai Hind”
Lt Gen (R) DS Hooda was the Northern Army Commander under whose watch the 2016 surgical strikes were conducted after the Uri terror attack.
Lt. Gen (R) DS Hooda’s sister, Smt. Sushma Hooda, is suffering from terminal cancer and is undergoing treatment at the Army Hospital in Delhi.
In the letter she drafted, she wrote “I have Triple negative metastatic breast cancer which has very limited treatment options. But there is hope for us now as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tested and approved as first line treatment a new drug called Sacituzumab Govitecanor (Trodelvy) in April 2021. Also, the European Medicine Agency (EMA) has approved it for medical use in November 2021.”
She requested the Prime Minister to “expedite the approval and purchase of this drug for the Indian market”. She further mentioned, “After the DCGI approves it and subsequently reaches the Army Hospital, it can take several months and cost lots of lives which can be saved through your intervention only.”
Smt. Hooda had posted the draft letter on Twitter, tagging PM Modi and Raksha Manti Shri Rajnath Singh.
Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress Party appointed Lt. Gen (R) DS Hooda in a panel to draft a comprehensive report on national security issues, to be included in its manifesto. The panel submitted its report to then Congress President Rahul Gandhi on March 31, 2019.
India had successfully carried out surgical strikes in September 2016 after terrorists of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed entered the Army camp in Uri near the Line of Control and killed 20 brave soldiers in the attack.
