Evidence keeps piling up that suggests that women that use talcum powder in their genital area can increase that woman’s chances of developing ovarian cancer. The more years that woman uses the talcum powder, the higher the risk. If you are using talcum powder on yourself or your baby, this is what you need to know.
What Are the Odds of Developing Ovarian Cancer Using Talcum Powder?
As an average, one in every 75 women will get ovarian cancer in their lifetime. This is just over 1%, and a lot slower than the 12% of these women developing breast cancer.
However, there isn’t a recommended test to detect ovarian cancer in women. This means that if you develop ovarian cancer, the odds of it being detected early aren’t excellent.
In 2017 there were over 20,000 new diagnoses of ovarian cancer and over 14,000 deaths associated with ovarian cancer. If your ovarian cancer is detected early enough, your survival rate may be as high as 93% at least 5 years after being diagnosed.
There have been studies conducted that have involved thousands of women literally. These studies have found that women who use talcum powder increase their chances of developing ovarian cancer by about 30%. What this means is that over that woman’s lifetime, her chances of developing ovarian cancer through the use of talcum powder increased from 1.3% to 1.7%.
While this number may seem low to you, consider that if a million women use talcum powder daily in their genital area, 4,000 of those women will develop ovarian cancer, compared to the number of women who wouldn’t have gotten ovarian cancer if they hadn’t used talcum powder in their genital area.
Is Evidence Good?
The majority of the evidence comes from what is called a case-control study. These studied involved two groups of women. One of the groups had ovarian cancer, and the other didn’t. The women with ovarian cancer were called “cases’ and women without ovarian cancer called “control.”
The women from both groups were asked to remember if they used talcum powder in the past, how often they used it, and how they used it. While these studies don’t let us know that the talcum powder caused their ovarian cancer, they do tell us that the women who said they used talcum powder in their genital area were more likely to develop ovarian cancer.
The results of all these case-control studies prompted The International Agency for Research on Cancer, to conclude that there was an “unusually consistent” increase in the chance of developing ovarian cancer in women who said they used talcum powder in their genital area.
Have The Courts Weighed In on the Matter?
Starting in 2014, Johnson & Johnson has had to defend against the talcum powder lawsuits brought by the families of women who have used their talcum powder and died from ovarian cancer.
In February of 2016, the courts ruled in favor of one family of a woman who’d died of ovarian cancer. According to the case, the woman who passed away was 62 years old, and particles of talcum powder were found in her ovaries, which were removed soon after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
In another case, a California woman with ovarian cancer won a $70 million dollar award against Johnson & Johnson, and she continues her fight to have warning labels on the products Johnson & Johnson sells.
What’s The Bottom Line?
The bottom line is that scientific evidence has shown there is a consistent link between the user of talcum powder on a woman’s genitals and ovarian cancer and other possible health risks.
Can A Talcum Powder Attorney Help Me?
The talcum powder lawyers at Jeffcoat Injury and Car Accident Lawyers in Columbia, South Carolina, offer free consultations so we can evaluate your individual circumstances and advise you of the next steps that may be legally available to you so you can receive all the monetary compensation you may deserve for your ovarian cancer.
