Did you or a loved one undergo chemotherapy treatment and receive the drug Taxotere for your cancer treatment? Do you experience persistent watery eyes? If so, you may be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer of Taxotere, Sanofi-Aventis.
During cancer treatment, you may experience unpleasant and frustrating side effects. However, the symptoms you experience should end once you stop your treatment. Unfortunately, for many patients who take Taxotere, also called Docetaxel, this is not the case. A high number of patients have watery eyes after taking Taxotere, even after they stop treatment. While this symptom may seem mild at first, watery eyes are the primary indicator that you may have canalicular stenosis caused by Taxotere.
Taxotere manufacturers have hidden the truth about their drug and suppressed information about this growing problem. By taking this dishonest approach, the Taxotere manufacturers placed countless patients at risk of a serious and permanent eye disorder. This company put its profits before your safety, and they need to take responsibility for their reprehensible actions.
If you developed canalicular stenosis, during or after taking Taxotere, you deserve justice. The Oregon Canalicular Stenosis Taxotere attorneys at Hotze Runkle PLLC are ready to help you fight for the compensation you need. Take the Taxotere Case Evaluation Quiz, and learn more about how our Taxotere lawsuit attorneys can help you seek justice. If Taxotere hurt you or a loved one, you need to act fast, so you can receive the greatest amount of compensation possible for your case.
Why You Need an Attorney
Undergoing cancer treatment is draining, both physically and emotionally, for you and your loved ones. However, you expect the pain and side effects that you experience during chemotherapy are temporary and worth the overall results of the treatment. Unfortunately, for many Taxotere users, this is not the case, and you must now face the impact of an irreversible eye disorder in addition to your cancer. Developing epiphora and canalicular stenosis, as a result of Taxotere, is even more infuriating when you know that these disorders are entirely preventable, with early diagnosis.
You deserve justice for the pain that Taxotere caused you and your loved ones. That is why you need the support and guidance of an experienced lawyer, who will advocate on your behalf. Your lawyer will reduce the pressure you are facing, by gathering all the necessary evidence, building your legal argument, and fighting for you in court. When you work with a lawyer, you will be able to focus on your recovery, while they spend their time and energy fighting for your rights and compensation.
Why Choose Hotze Runkle PLLC?
The attorneys at Hotze Runkle PLLC have experience taking on powerful pharmaceutical companies like Sanofi-Aventis, and we are dedicated to helping our clients receive the fair compensation they deserve. We will use our skills and extensive resources to hold them accountable for the harm you’ve suffered. We also provide individualized solutions for our clients because we understand the importance of meeting the needs of your specific case. Hotze Runkle PLLC offers an unparalleled commitment to our clients, so that you know that you have the support and guidance you need through every step of your lawsuit.
When you choose Hotze Runkle PLLC to represent your Oregon Taxotere lawsuit, you will have an empathetic and effective legal time fighting by your side. We understand the pain that Taxotere caused you, and the impact that canalicular stenosis has on your life and your future. Hotze Runkle PLLC is ready to represent you and force this drug manufacturer to take responsibility for the harm they caused.
What is Taxotere?
Taxotere is a brand of chemotherapy treatment, containing the active ingredient Docetaxel. Doctors may prescribe this treatment by itself or in conjunction with other cancer treatments, depending on the type and severity of your cancer. Across the United States, doctors prescribe Taxotere for numerous different types of cancers, including lung, prostate, or head and neck cancer. However, the most common usage of Taxotere is for breast cancer treatment, making the drug more widely used by women than men.
Taxotere is effective at preventing the growth of cancerous cells because this medication stops the process of cell division. However, this medication prevents the growth of both healthy and cancerous cells. Without the production of new cells in the body, you may experience serious side effects from taking Taxotere.
Patients who use Taxotere receive the medication intravenously, typically during weekly chemotherapy sessions. However, your doctor may choose to pursue this treatment in two-week or three-week intervals, based on your prognosis. No matter how frequently you received Taxotere treatments, you are still at risk of developing watery eyes and canalicular stenosis.
Side Effects of Taxotere
Like most chemotherapy treatments, Taxotere comes with uncomfortable and often unavoidable side effects, such as nausea, hair loss, and diarrhea. However, Taxotere also frequently causes epiphora, which may develop into canalicular stenosis. Epiphora is a disorder that causes extremely watery eyes and the sensation of uncontrollable crying. The most common symptoms associated with epiphora include:
- Vision changes or reduced vision
- Sharp pain in or around the eye
- Eye redness and visible blood vessels
- Swelling around the eyes
- A persistent feeling that something is in your eye
- Sensitivity to light
These symptoms are not only frustrating and painful, but they can also impact your daily activities. Many patients with epiphora experience trouble reading or watching TV, an inability to drive due to decreased vision, and difficulties wearing makeup.
If you recognize symptoms of epiphora early in your Taxotere treatment, an ophthalmologist can offer effective treatment for this problem. However, many oncologists are not aware of this side effect of Taxotere because of the lack of information available. Without the proper information from Taxotere manufacturers, oncologists may not warn their patients of epiphora or they may not take this concern seriously.
Nevertheless, epiphora is a significant problem that requires medical intervention, to prevent further damage to your eyes. If you have epiphora, even after you stop taking Taxotere, you most likely have some level of canalicular stenosis, a severe disorder of the eye.
Understanding Canalicular Stenosis
Healthy eyes produce tears continually during the day. These tears keep the eyes moist and protect them from dirt or other irritants. Under normal circumstances, you do not notice these tears because the eye removes them automatically. Tears drain from your eyes into your tear ducts, through small tubes called the upper and lower canaliculus.
Canalicular stenosis occurs when the canaliculus closes and tears can no longer flow through to the tear ducts. Without functional canaliculi, the tears overflow onto your face, causing the appearance of crying. Depending on the severity of your canalicular stenosis, you may experience watery eyes occasionally or you may struggle with a constant overflow of tears.
Taxotere causes canalicular stenosis through secretions of the drug into your tears. These secretions can irritate the canaliculus and cause chronic inflammation of this structure. Inflammation in your canaliculi prevents the eye from disposing of tears normal and ultimately causes stenosis.
Canalicular Stenosis Treatment
Unless diagnosed early, canalicular stenosis causes irreversible damage to your canaliculi. After complete closure of the canaliculus, eye surgery to reopen this tube is the only treatment option available. This surgery is expensive and invasive, often resulting in serious eye pain during recovery and afterward. Even if you seek surgery to correct canalicular stenosis, this problem may require continued medical intervention for the rest of your life.
If you or your oncologist recognizes the symptoms of canalicular stenosis before complete closure occurs, this problem is entirely treatable and preventable. Unfortunately, most patients and doctors do not know to look for the signs of canalicular stenosis, while using Taxotere as a cancer treatment. The pharmaceutical company that produces Taxotere downplayed the likelihood of canalicular stenosis and the severity of this problem, causing cancer patients to suffer as a result.
If you have developed canalicular stenosis after taking Taxotere, you have the right to demand compensation from the pharmaceutical manufacturer. They caused you to develop this serious medical complication, and you should not have to pay the price of this company’s inexcusable behavior.
Contact an Oregon Taxotere Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one has persistent watery eyes, following chemotherapy treatment with Taxotere, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. Money cannot take away the pain you have experienced, but this compensation can ensure that you receive the proper medical care, without struggling financially.
When pharmaceutical companies put profits over the safety of patients, the lawyers at Hotze Runkle PLLC will be there to make things right. We’ll demand justice for you, and we won’t rest until you receive the compensation you deserve. Take our case evaluation quiz to find out if you qualify, and let us help you.