Taxotere: What It Is and Why Some Women Are Suing

Brand name Taxotere (docetaxel) is a the most commonly used drug in its class to treat breast cancer. According to BreastCancer.org, the drug works by interfering with the ability of cancer cells to divide, is given intravenously, and is used to treat patients suffering from both early stage breast cancer and advanced stage breast cancer.

Taxotere, like all other drugs, has a number of serious and unpleasant side effects. One of the more distressing side effects – and the one over which a number of women are suing Taxotere’s maker, Sanofi-Aventis – is permanent hair loss.

 

Sanofi-Aventis Fails to Warn Patients of Permanent Hair Loss

 The permanent hair loss that some women are experiencing as a result of using Taxotere, called alopecia (a condition in which your immune system attacks your hair follicles), is disfiguring, distressful, and shocking; affected women assumed their hair would grow back once they stopped taking the drug and cancer was eradicated.

In response, women are filing lawsuits against the company for damages, alleging that Sanofi-Aventis never warned the women that permanent hair loss was a potential risk. While the FDA warning for Taxotere does warn of some very serious effects of taking Taxotere, including toxic death and hepatotoxicity, warnings of permanent hair loss are nowhere to be found. Some women are claiming that had they known that permanent hair loss was a potential consequence, they might have chosen a different treatment option.

 

Contact Our Law Firm Today

If you are a woman who has suffered permanent hair loss as a result of taking Taxotere for breast cancer treatment, you may have a claim against Sanofi-Aventis. To learn more about your options for filing a taxotere lawsuit, contact the law offices of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC today for a free consultation.