Every woman fears the words, “You have breast cancer.” This disease attacks our bodies, our emotions and our femininity. We would do anything to eliminate this horrible sickness and move past this insurmountable trial, but most women aren’t informed that there are different types of chemotherapy treatments. If you took Taxotere while you battled breast cancer, you may have a new struggle to face: permanent alopecia.
Chemotherapy is used to kill the cancerous cells so that they can’t spread to other parts of the body. Since there is a war going on in your body, it’s no wonder that chemotherapy has horrible side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and fatigue. Another common side effect that most women expect is hair loss, but usually these ailments go away when chemotherapy treatments stop.
One of the most painful ways that Taxotere harms patients is that it can cause permanent alopecia (hair loss). Most dermatologists agree that a patient can be diagnosed with permanent alopecia when chemotherapy has been completed for six months or longer and the patient is still unable to grow back a full head of hair or even eyebrows and eyelashes. Their hair only grows back as a light fuzz, in patches, or possibly not at all. The patient may look into Rogaine or other hair treatment options to regrow hair, but if she doesn’t have a head of hair after six months, the sad truth is that she probably won’t ever be able to.
Unfortunately, women who took Taxotere weren’t warned that this drug could cause long term harm. They also weren’t made aware that Taxol, a similar breast cancer chemotherapy drug, is available and doesn’t pose the same risk of causing permanent alopecia. Who knows how many women would have chosen Taxol over Taxotere? However, since they were not given the opportunity to make an educated choice for themselves, they now have to live with the hardship of long term hair loss.
Of course, being unable to grow your full, beautiful hair back means that something negatively affected your scalp or hair follicles. (While doctors are unsure of how Taxotere causes this adverse effect, there are many studies that state that there is evidence linking the two.) But the harm goes much deeper than just a physical issue. It harms your self-confidence as you try to hide this embarrassing feature. It harms your femininity and identity as a woman when you lose your locks (especially if you also had a mastectomy). It harms your emotions as many women battle depression after undergoing such traumatizing loss.
There are many women who have gone through the same struggle as you, and you are not alone. You may want to look into a support group such as the Cancer Survivors Network or A Head of Our Time. You may also be eligible for financial compensation. You weren’t warned of the potential risk of permanent alopecia and now you have the added expense of wigs, scarves, and other accessories due to hair loss. Contact us today to see if you are eligible to make a claim.
