Did you undergo cancer treatment with Taxotere and experience partial or complete baldness months after the treatments ended? Hair loss is common in chemotherapy treatments, but permanent hair loss is not. If this situation happened to you, then you may have an actionable claim. No one should be tricked by a drug company into taking a medicine they might otherwise have avoided. If you have taken Taxotere or are currently using it as a treatment, it is important to listen to your doctor’s advice before altering treatment. You should also understand what Taxotere is and know the basis of a Taxotere lawsuit.

Listening to your doctor’s advice

There are dozens (if not hundreds) of lawsuits involving Taxotere. However, if you are currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, you should not stop taking Taxotere immediately. Stopping treatment is a decision between you and your doctor. If your doctor recommends this drug as the most effective for your situation, listen to your doctor. Taxotere may or may not cause unintended side effects for you.

Understanding what Taxotere is

Taxotere (a.k.a. docetaxel) was invented and manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis, which held the patents until 2010 when they expired and currently holds the trademarks. Taxotere is a member of the taxane drug class, which is shared with its sister-drug paclitaxel.

Taxotere is a chemotherapy drug that is taken intravenously (through an IV). The FDA certified this drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, head and neck cancer, and breast cancer. The vast majority of prescriptions of this medication are for breast cancer, however.

Cancer is unrestrained cell division within your body. Usually, cells obey your brain and only divide when instructed. Your skin cells are constantly dividing and it takes approximately 27 days for you to regenerate an entirely new “set” of skin. When cells become cancerous, they are no longer obeying your brain and instead divide and replicate at alarming rates, forming tumors.

Taxotere treats cancer by interrupting this abnormal cell division. The drug reduces the cancerous cells’ effect on the body and allows the immune system and other drugs to attack and kill them.

Knowing the basis of Taxotere lawsuits

Hospitals, doctors, and drug companies are under an obligation to disclose all pertinent medical information related to cancer treatment. That means any possible side effects must be disclosed.

There were studies conducted as early as 2005 that showed Taxotere could cause partial or permanent hair loss. The GEICAM 9805 clinical trial found that 9.2 percent of patients failed to regrow their hair during a 10-year follow-up period, which concluded in 2005. A second, independent study by Dr. Sedlacek found that 6.3 percent of women grew back less than 50 percent of their hair after treatment.

Despite these studies, the Food and Drug Administration did not require the company to change the warning label until December 2015. These studies show that Sanofi-Aventis had some prior knowledge of these side effects and failed to take appropriate action to warn doctors and patients. The result is thousands of people, many of them women, experiencing permanent hair loss.

Hair loss, even permanent, may sound like a minor issue after beating cancer. However, permanent hair loss is a major issue for those suffering from this side effect. This issue also undermines the reliability of the healthcare industry to fully disclose information. Patients need to know that their doctors will tell them everything that is relevant and that drug companies will be transparent about their products. Hiding this information removes from patients their right to choose their own course of treatment. No one should trick or force another person into treatment, because that violates their basic rights.

Several studies also found that some cancer treatments, while less potent, may have equal results with less permanent hair loss. Many plaintiffs say that these options could have been viable alternatives to Taxotere, but they were not given the information and choice.

We are now accepting cases related to Taxotere treatment. If you know someone who suffered from partial or total permanent hair loss, please call Dean Boyd at (806) 242-3333. You can also Contact Us by email for more information or visit in person at 4423 SW 45th Ave, in Amarillo, Texas or 10623 Quaker Ave #102 in Lubbock, Texas.

Not sure if you took Taxotere, but still experiencing permanent hair loss? Feel free to drop by our office or schedule an appoint to discuss a possible lawsuit. We welcome the opportunity to review your case. Please spread the word and share this with your friends and family. There will be no fee unless we collect something for you from the company that did this to you or your loved one.