A Utah cancer patient recently filed a new lawsuit alleging that they suffer from chemotherapy induced alopecia, years after treatment ended.

The plaintiff, Nancy W., says she began undergoing chemotherapy on Dec. 1, 2011, and finished treatment just a few months later on March 15, 2012. The drug used during treatment was the drug docetaxel.

While cancer patients generally go into chemotherapy treatment expecting a certain risk of chemotherapy induced alopecia (hair loss), they also expect that their hair will grow back after treatment is over.

But what Nancy discovered is that this is not always the case. More than five years after her chemotherapy treatment was over, Nancy claims, she continues to suffer from chemotherapy induced alopecia.

Though there was nothing she could do to get her hair back, Nancy decided to file a lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturers for failing to give adequate warning about the risk of chemotherapy induced alopecia linked with their drug. Nancy filed her lawsuit on Nov. 2 in a federal court in Louisiana, where a growing number of permanent hair loss lawsuits are being heard.

The lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including failure to warn, negligence, fraudulence misrepresentation and concealment, and breach of express warranty, among others.

Docetaxel Basics

Docetaxel is a popular chemotherapy drug for breast cancer, and is also used for other cancer treatment, including lung cancer. Manufactured and sold by Sanofi, it’s also sold under the brand name Taxotere.

Docetaxel has been around for a while, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration back in the 1990s. In the two decades since its approval, docetaxel drugs have grown to be one of the more popular cancer treatment options.

In order to fight cancer, Taxotere prevents individual cancer cells from growing. However, it may be that the drug’s ability to prevent the rapid spread of cancer cells also prevents a patient’s hair from growing back, leading to chemotherapy induced alopecia that may be permanent.

Some patients who experience chemotherapy induced alopecia may find that their hair grows back with difficulty or in patches, and many others find that their hair can’t grow back at all.

Filing a Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia Lawsuit

A growing number of cancer patients like Nancy are filing lawsuits against drug manufacturers over chemotherapy induced alopecia. According to lawsuits, Sanofi either knew or should have known that its popular drug was linked with the risk of chemotherapy induced alopecia.

If you or someone you love has suffered from chemotherapy induced alopecia after using a docetaxel drug, you may be able to seek financial compensation by filing a docetaxel lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering a cancer patient endures, or take away the effects of chemotherapy induced alopecia, but it can help compensate for the financial expenses incurred by cancer treatment bills or even lost wages.

The Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-11688-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.