A woman has filed a lawsuit against the makers of Taxotere alleging her breast cancer chemo hair loss has permanently harmed her

Plaintiff Laurie H. says she underwent Taxotere (docetaxel) chemotherapy treatments February 2015 through September 2015 to treat a diagnosis of breast cancer. She believed any hair loss she experienced would have been temporary.

According to her breast cancer chemo hair loss complaint, Laurie has suffered permanent disfigurement, including permanent alopecia (hair loss), psychological counseling and therapy expenses, debilitating emotional distress, physical and mental pain, and an impaired quality and enjoyment of life. She says she also has suffered past and future loss of earnings and an impairment of her earnings capacity

Laurie’s complaint joins a Taxotere MDL that includes other women who survived cancer but continue to feel stigmatized by their baldness, which the MDL calls a “universal cancer signifier.” While they expected temporary hair loss as a result of chemotherapy, none of them expected permanent hair loss, which often includes loss of eyelashes, eyebrows, body hair, and hair on the scalp.

Breast Cancer Chemo Hair Loss Risk Hidden

Taxotere maker Sanofi Aventis marketed Taxotere as a better and more effective chemotherapy drug that its main competitor, Taxol. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in 2008 that said Taxol actually was more effective than Taxotere when used in conjunction with other standard chemo treatments. Taxotere is more toxic than Taxol.

Sanofi sponsored a clinical trial known as GEICAM 9805 that began in 1998. Between June 1999 and March 2003, patients from 55 centers were followed through chemotherapy treatments. The study found 9.2 percent of patients who received Taxotere had persistent breast cancer chemo hair loss for 10 and a half years or longer.

In December 2006, oncologist Dr. Scot Sedlacek found that 6.3 of the Taxotere patients he saw experienced breast cancer chemo hair loss longer than what would be expected, up to at least 7 years.

“Such an emotionally devastating long-term toxicity from this combination must be taken into account when deciding on adjuvant chemotherapy programs in women who likely will be cured of their breast cancer,” said Dr. Sedlacek in his research report

For many years, the U.S. label for Taxotere failed to mention the risks of permanent hair loss in relationship to taking the drug. According to the MDL, a label from April 2010 still insisted “hair generally grows back.”

The U.S. label first mentioned that permanent hair loss had been reported as a side effect in December 2015.

According to the Taxotere MDL, women who experience permanent breast cancer chemo hair loss report suffering from lower self-esteem, poor body image, anxiety, depression, anger and a lower quality of life.

“Women with alopecia may experience a loss of sense of femininity, sexuality, attractiveness, self-confidence, and womanhood,” says the Taxotere MDL.

The Breast Cancer Chemo Hair Loss Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-08535-JTM-MBN and is part of the Taxotere MDL, In re: Taxotere (docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2740, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.