The answer is clear. But most patients weren’t given that option.
The selection of Taxotere over Taxol would not have been important except for the fact that Taxotere causes Permanent Hair Loss (Alopecia) in up to 12% of women according to some studies. Taxol does not cause Permanent Hair Loss in any noticeable numbers.
In 2015 the FDA began requiring the manufacturer to place a warning label on the drug. The manufacturer had to recall batches of the drug, both in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, in 2001 and 2016 because of other manufacturing errors.
A lawsuit filed in 2016 by a cancer survivor in California alleges that the manufacturer actually knew about the adverse side effect since the late 1990s. The manufacturers own studies revealed the permanent alopecia, but they chose to hide the information from consumers. Taxotere sales reached $1.4 billion in 2004.
This is what PERMANENT alopecia from #Taxotere #Docetaxel looks like @SanofiUS @SanofiFR @EMA_News @MHRApress @GxP_Services_DE #Sanofi #lawsuit #Attorneys #personalinjury @neuralitllc #BigPharma #Breastcancer #chemo #PatientExperience #patientsafety pic.twitter.com/Yjqkn9VsdQ
— S.A.Ledlie (@SALedlie) April 17, 2018
Breast Cancer victims and their doctors should have been able to make an informed decision as to which drug they wanted: the drug that doesn’t cause Permanent Hair Loss or the drug that does.