Temporary hair loss following chemotherapy is hard enough. Unfortunately, as acknowledged by the FDA, cases of permanent hair loss (alopecia) have been reported in patients who have been given the chemotherapy drug, Taxotere®.
Now a breast cancer survivor from Ohio, Hattie Carson, has decided to take on Sanofi-Aventis in Ohio Federal Court. According to her complaint, Ms. Carson underwent a core biopsy in April 2004 of her right breast after receiving abnormal results from a routine mammogram. The biopsy demonstrated an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, nuclear grade 3, and a ducal carcinoma, solid type with microcalcification in her right breast. After a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy were performed on her right breast, Ms. Carson met with her oncologist to discuss further treatment. Ms. Carson alleged that neither she nor her treating healthcare providers were aware of or informed by manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis, that disfiguring permanent alopecia could occur following treatment with Taxotere®. She underwent chemotherapy with Taxotere® and suffered and continues to suffer from disfiguring permanent hair loss.
The lawsuit further alleges that Sanofi-Aventis knew or should have known that the rate of permanent alopecia related to Taxotere® was far greater than with other products available to treat the same condition. Yet, through its publications and marketing material, Sanofi-Aventis allegedly misled Ms. Carson, the public, and the medical community to believe that, as with other chemotherapy drugs that cause alopecia, patients’ hair would grow back.
For more information about this or other Taxotere® lawsuits, feel free to contact Pharmaceutical/ Medical Device Litigation Attorney Pamela A. Borgess of Borgess Law, LLC at (567) 455-5955 or toll-free at (844) LAW-9144. You can also contact Borgess Law, LLC by submitting an online inquiry.