Drug maker Sanofi Aventis is facing a new Taxotere lawsuit from a woman who already suffered major losses from her chemo for breast cancer.

Taxotere (Docetaxel) was approved by the FDA in 1996 to be a chemotherapy treatment option that is sometimes used conjointly with other drugs. But Taxotere hair loss has become a widespread concern for breast cancer patients, as most of them are already contending with the emotional upsets and ills of cancer treatments.

While most popularly used for breast cancer, Taxotere can can also be used to treat cancers of lung, prostate, head, and neck. Like most chemotherapy drugs, Taxotere is given in cycles intravenously under strict supervision from the patients’ physicians.

Plaintiff Homer C. is filing her Taxotere lawsuit, after being prescribed the drug for chemotherapy to treat her breast cancer.

Homer was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2005 and had undergone a mastectomy of her left breast just a month later. After her mastectomy, Homer had consulted her physician for further treatment options, in which she was prescribed Taxotere during chemo for breast cancer.

After undergoing chemotherapy, Homer had lost a significant portion of her hair, and has since had trouble growing it back.

In December 2015, the FDA had ordered Sanofi to revise the drugs’s warning label to include potentially permanent Taxotere hair loss. However, it was not until 2016 that Homer and her physician learned that Taxotere hair loss may be permanent, leading her to file this Taxotere lawsuit.

Overview of Taxotere Hair Loss Allegations

Even though Taxotere hair loss, as well as hair loss from other chemotherapy drugs, is a relatively common occurrence, permanent baldness is fairly uncommon. However, according to recent studies up to 10% of Taxotere patients experience long term hair loss; the risk increases when used with other chemo drugs.

One reason for this is because chemotherapy drugs are designed to eliminate fast growing cells, which is why they work so well for cancer, but also target healthy cells in the body.

Some experts have reported that scalp cooling or cold caps may reduce the risks of permanent Taxotere hair loss, with clinical trials supporting showing similar results, but when Homer underwent chemo for breast cancer, neither she nor her physician had anticipated the possibility of permanent hair loss.

According to Homer’s Taxotere lawsuit, Sanofi had not warned her or her physician of the risk of permanent Taxotere hair loss. In fact, Sanofi Aventis stated that patients can expect some Taxotere hair loss but the hair “generally grows back.”

Homer is filing is Taxotere lawsuit against the drug manufacturer for failing to adequately warn her against the potential side effects of their drugs.

This Taxotere Lawsuit is Homer C. v. Sanofi Aventis, Case No. 3:16-cv-289-TSLRHW in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division.