The Emotional Side Effects of Permanent Hair Loss For Women Are All Too Real

There are many ways in which the psychological trauma of permanent hair loss can ruin a life

Friday, September 22, 2017 - Even temporary hair loss is a terrifying side effect of anti-cancer chemotherapy treatment and keeps many people from seeking a proper cancer diagnosis in the first place. Hair loss can affect a person's self-esteem, sense of self-worth, and can lead to serious depression. These symptoms, in turn, can cause a person to be unable to return to work or to continue in a role as a mother or father within a family. Hair loss, especially in women can cause them to become shut into their homes and not want to venture out into the public to do any of the activities that previously gave them pleasure. Hair loss is not, as cancer drug maker Sanofi-Aventis might have us believe a "vanity" issue. No women should have to cover up with a scarf or wear a wig every time they go out in public. When hair loss becomes permanent a cancer patient can be left feeling like they are a freak and as if their life has been ruined.

Patient Have a Right to Know Their Options

Patients diagnosed with cancer have a right to know all of their options so that they can make informed choices regarding their treatment. As a result of doctors switching from Taxol to Taxotere chemotherapy, and not explaining the potential for life-altering "permanent" hair loss, thousands of cancer patients now face a lifetime without hair on their head, face, eyebrows, eyelashes and a loss of body hair completely. Knowing full well the permanent hair loss side effects of the more toxic Taxotere, Sanofi-Aventis deliberately chose to hide their finding from the American public, having notified health official in the European Union and Canada years earlier. This coupled with financial incentives Sanofi paid to doctors that switched to Taxotere, left patients with advanced cancers in the dark unaware that there was a better and safer alternative.

The FDA Warned Sanofi to Stop Its Deceptive Marketing Practices

The Food and Drug Administration FDA warned Sanofi-Aventis that the company's reprint citing a study in the Journal of Oncology was "false and misleading" and overstated that Taxotere was more effective than Taxol in treating breast cancer. The FDA stated that it was "not aware of substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience to support the claims made regarding Taxotere's level of efficacy or superiority to paclitaxel." In its warning, the FDA stated that it is "not aware of substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience to support the claims made in the carrier regarding Taxotere's level of efficacy or superiority to paclitaxel."

Studies Link Taxotere to Permanent Baldness

There are a number of studies that link the highly toxic anti-cancer drug Taxotere to permanent hair loss. In 2014, a study conducted by the National Cancer Research Institute found the number patients taking Taxotere and experiencing permanent baldness as a result at around 10-15%. A study performed by Dr. Scot Sedlacek at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers in Denver, Colorado in 2006, collected data from 500 Taxotere patients over a period ten-years and found that approximately 6% suffered permanent hair loss.

More Recent Taxotere Hair Loss Lawsuit News:

• Taxotere Alopecia Warning Limited to the Fine Print | 5/17/2019
• Women that have to undergo chemotherapy for the first time face great anxiety | 5/6/2019
• Taxotere Patients Denied Their Right To Make An Informed Decision | 4/24/2019
• Patients Must Be Made Aware Of Taxotere's Three Major Side Effects | 4/18/2019
• Women Are Angry Over Sanofi Failing To Warn About The Possibility of Permanent Hair Loss | 4/12/2019
• Women Undergoing Cancer Treatments Are Taking Better Care of Themselves to Limit Hair Loss | 4/5/2019
• Taxotere Permanent Hair Loss Has Devastating Psychological Implications For Patients | 3/25/2019
• Taxotere Causes Alopecia Which Can Be Psychologically Damaging | 3/20/2019
• Drug Makers Need To Write Clearer, More Descriptive Drug Warnings Starting With Taxotere | 3/18/2019
• Taxotere Lawsuits May Teach Doctors a Valuable Lesson | 3/13/2019
• Taxotere Permanent Baldness Warning | 4/30/2018
• Taxotere Chemotherapy and Permanent Hair Loss | 4/26/2018
• Sanofi Sales Representatives Oversold Taxotere | 4/24/2018
• Scientific Study Confirms Permanent Taxotere Hair Loss | 4/12/2018
• Chemotherapy Drug Side Effects | 4/9/2018
• Cancer Doctors Fail to Warn Patients | 4/4/2018
• Taxotere's Psychological Side Effects | 3/13/2018
• Permanent Hair Loss Can Lead to Depression | 3/6/2018
• A Woman's Hair is Linked to Their Feminity | 2/23/2018
• Studies Indicate Taxotere Causes Permanent Hair Loss | 2/14/2018
• Taxotere's Ambiguous Hair Loss Warning | 2/5/2018
• Permanent Hair Loss Makes the Fear of Growing Old All Too Real | 12/29/2017
• Thousands of Women File Taxotere Hair Loss Lawsuits | 12/27/2017
• Taxotere Patients Psychological Trauma Result in Lawsuits Against Sanofi-Aventis | 12/22/2017
• Scientific Studies Point to Taxotere Hair Loss | 12/18/2017
• Cancer Patients Right to Make an Informed Decision | 12/13/2017
• How Women Think About Chemotherapy Hair Loss | 12/11/2017
• The Emotional Side Effects of Alopecia | 12/8/2017
• Taxotere May Cause Permanent Hair Loss | 12/4/2017
• Women Equate Baldness With Masculinity | 11/27/2017
• Symptoms of Permanent Hair Loss | 11/21/2017
• Taxotere's Warning May Have Come Too Late For Many | 11/15/2017
• Taxotere Benefits and Side Effects | 11/9/2017
• Women Were Not Given a Choice of Cancer Drugs | 11/1/2017
• The Impact of Permanent Hair Loss on Some Cancer Survivors | 9/29/2017
• Taxotere is Highly Toxic and Causes Permanent Hair Loss | 9/15/2017
• 10-15 Percent of Cancer Patients Given Taxotere Develop Permanent Hair Loss | 9/8/2017
• Permanent Hair Loss From Taxotere is a Real Possibility | 9/1/2017
• Taxotere Permanent Hair Loss Lawsuits | 7/21/2017
• Permanent Hair Loss Caused by Taxotere | 6/26/2017
• Taxotere Warnings Now Include Permanent Hair Loss | 6/19/2017
• Taxotere Hair Loss Lawsuits Focus on Warning Label | 6/12/2017
• Permanent Hair Loss in Some Taxotere Users Delivers Secondary Blow to Cancer Patients | 6/5/2017

Lawyers for Taxotere Hair Loss Lawsuits

Onder, Shelton, O'Leary & Peterson, LLC is a St. Louis personal injury law firm handling serious injury and death claims across the country. Its mission is the pursuit of justice, no matter how complex the case or strenuous the effort. Onder, Shelton, O'Leary & Peterson has represented clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation such as Pradaxa, Lexapro and Yasmin/Yaz, where the firm's attorneys held significant leadership roles in the litigation, as well as Actos, DePuy, Risperdal and others. The Onder Law Firm has won more than $300 million in four talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in St. Louis. Law firms throughout the nation often seek its experience and expertise on complex litigation.