A Mississippi cancer patient recently filed a lawsuit against Sanofi-Aventis over issues with Taxotere safety, including permanent alopecia.

The plaintiff, Betty W., began taking Taxotere in September 2008. Betty had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and Taxotere was part of her regimen to combat her breast cancer.

Most cancer patients are aware going into treatment about the possibility of losing their hair during chemotherapy treatment. But patients generally expect their hair to begin to grow back in after treatment is over.

However, after undergoing her breast cancer treatment with Taxotere, Betty still had not grown her hair back.

At the time of filing her Taxotere safety lawsuit, Betty continues to suffer from permanent, disfiguring alopecia as a direct result of being treated with Taxotere.

The lawsuit alleges that Sanofi purposely downplayed Taxotere safety problems in order to sell their drug more effectively to an already vulnerable group, cancer patients.

According to the lawsuit, Sanofi-Aventis failed to adequately warn patients and the medical community about problems with Taxotere safety, especially the possibility of permanent alopecia.

Taxotere Background

Taxotere was manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis and approved as a breast cancer treatment drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in May 1996.

Because of Sanofi-Aventis’ claims of efficacy and superior Taxotere safety, thousands of patients have been exposed to side effects at a heightened severity and increased rate than had they chosen to take another drug, the lawsuit claims.

Permanent Hair Loss from Taxotere

Alopecia is a common side effect of Taxotere, but many patients are not prepared for the possibility of permanent hair loss.

Taxotere fights breast cancer by preventing cancer cells from growing, which in turn prevents the cancer from its ability to quickly spread.

However, the same function that prevents the rapid growth of cancer cells may also prevent a patient’s hair from growing back after chemotherapy. One of the most well-known side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss, but what many patients don’t know is that hair loss from Taxotere can be permanent.

Lawsuits claim that Sanofi-Aventis has been aware of reports and studies linking Taxotere to permanent hair loss after chemotherapy since as far back as its approval in 1996.

However, Taxotere safety lawsuits allege that, despite knowledge of their drug’s connection with permanent chemotherapy hair loss, Sanofi chose to conceal this information from patients and the wider medical community.

Some women who were treated with Taxotere during chemotherapy have reported that they were told their hair would grow back after chemotherapy was finished, yet ended up either having major difficulties growing their hair back, taking an especially long time to grow, or even suffering from permanent chemotherapy hair loss.

Taxotere Safety Lawsuits

If you or someone you love has experienced permanent chemotherapy hair loss from Taxotere, you may be able to gain some kind of compensation through a breast cancer drug lawsuit.

Filing a Taxotere safety lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering a cancer patient endures, but it can help compensate for the financial expenses incurred by medical bills or even lost wages.

The Taxotere Safety Lawsuit is Case No. 16-17530, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.