In a lawsuit claiming that Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused a woman to develop ovarian cancer, a Harvard pathologist has stated that he found talcum powder particles in the woman’s ovaries, and claimed that it was likely that these particles came from Johnson & Johnson talc product. 

Retired Harvard pathologist John Godleski had been asked to examine tissue samples from the ovaries of Vickie F., who claimed that her use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder had caused her to develop ovarian cancer. In her Johnson and Johnson baby powder cancer lawsuit, Vickie had claimed both that the talc in the baby powder was itself carcinogenic, and that it was contaminated with asbestos, which is also allegedly carcinogenic. 

According to Godleski, he found five talcum powder particles in a sample of Vickie’s ovary that had been removed as part of her cancer treatment. The pathologist claimed that the particles had an atomic weight that was substantially similar to that of the Johnson & Johnson talc. 

Based on this similarity, Godleski stated that he believed that the baby powder found in Vickie’s ovary sample was likely Johnson & Johnson talc. 

Godleski said that because there were five particles found only in a small sample of Vickie’s ovary, there were likely hundreds of similar particles found throughout her ovary. He then said that these observations supported Vickie’s claims that it was indeed Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, which she says she used for years.

Godleski did note that these observations did not prove that Vickie’s cancer was caused by Johnson & Johnson baby powder, but were “evidence of the causal relationship.”

J&J Fights Back

However, Johnson & Johnson’s lawyers wasted no time in fighting back against these observations and their implications. Johnson & Johnson’s representatives claimed that Godleski did not, in fact, know where the talc came from, saying that the pathologist had not been able to really say where the talc had originated.

The life science giant’s lawyers then went on to speculate that another company could have produced baby powder with an atomic weight comparable to that of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, and as a result, comparable to that of the baby powder in Vickie’s ovarian sample.

Godleski stood by his belief that the talcum powder sample was likely from Johnson & Johnson, claiming that it was “unlikely” that another brand was the culprit, based on the information available.

Cancer Diagnosis

Vickie’s Johnson and Johnson baby powder cancer lawsuit says that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, which she claims was caused by her use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder for intimate hygiene. 

According to Vickie, before she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she was diagnosed with endometriosis in 1992. She says that as part of her treatment for endometriosis, she had her left ovary and fallopian tube removed, and then as part of her cancer treatment around two decades later, had her right ovary and fallopian tube removed.

Happily, Vickie says that she is now in remission from her ovarian cancer, after undergoing chemotherapy. 

Unfortunately, Vickie’s is not the only story of cancer allegedly caused by exposure to talcum powder. Johnson & Johnson has faced a significant number of these claims from women who used the product for feminine hygiene. The New York Times reported in October that the company has faced thousands of similar Johnson and Johnson baby powder cancer lawsuits, and has now recalled baby powder and other talc-based products over claims that talc can cause cancer.

Imreys Talc America, one of Johnson & Johnson’s talc suppliers, has already filed bankruptcy, unable to weather claims around the possible dangers of its talc product.

The Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 1522-CC00419-01, in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri.