Even throughout courses of treatment, cancer cells can remain in your body undetected and reemerge later, and you may not be fully cured of ovarian cancer. Doctors generally classify survival as living five years without cancer detected in the body. When patients catch ovarian cancer early on, before it spreads to other regions of their bodies, they have about a 90% chance of surviving for five years. Patients in the later, more severe stages of ovarian cancer have lower chances of surviving for five years after treatment, according to the CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Cancer presents a complex disease to treat and may require multiple rounds of the same or different treatments. Chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can all lead to complications not directly caused by cancer, as well. In addition, cancer treatments cause additional stress on the body that makes it weaker and more vulnerable to infection and other diseases.
The Accuracy of Cancer Treatment Statistics
Treatment rates of cancer and related diseases can vary because everyone who gets cancer has a different experience and comes to treatment with additional medical conditions. Some patients may not be fully cured of ovarian cancer based on all the variables of treatment. When it comes to reporting survival rate statistics, doctors use relative data from former patients.
Another issue with determining the survival rate of cancer revolves around the stage of the person’s cancer when treatment begins. In more advanced stages of cancer, the survival rate remains generally lower. When doctors detect cancer in an advanced stage, treatment for that particular patient may differ from what they may recommend if they caught it earlier on.
Data on Ovarian Cancer
Some consistent factors in ovarian cancer make it easier to report on than other types of cancer. Researchers can break up cancer rate estimates for diagnosis, how many people have cancer, and how many people will die from it according to historically high rates in specific populations. Ovarian cancer only happens in the reproductive glands of women.
Older Women Who Used Talcum Powder
One uncertain risk factor of cancer involves the use of talcum powder. Talcum powder alone does not classify as carcinogenic, but talc mined in its natural form often contains asbestos, which classifies as a carcinogen. Research cannot yet rule out the connection between long periods of talc use and ovarian cancer.
Because cancer can have so many external factors, reputable cancer resources hesitate to make the connection. But older women who used talcum powder products and received diagnoses of ovarian cancer reported long-term use of talcum powder for personal hygiene. If women do not have a family history of ovarian cancer, they may not detect it before the prognosis includes a low chance of survival.
Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuits
In 2017, internal documents that proved negligence from Johnson & Johnson became public, leading to the initiation of thousands of lawsuits. Today, Johnson & Johnson faces almost 18,000 lawsuits from people who claimed that long-term use of its talcum powder products caused their cancer, according to an article from Bloomberg about Johnson & Johnson’s talc-cancer cases. Lawsuits include victims who suffered both ovarian cancer from long-term hygienic use and lung cancer from breathing in talcum powder particles.
Investigations and Future Outlook
Although Johnson & Johnson won some of these cases in court, an FDA report in 2019 moved the company to recall a single volume of its powder products from stores. The company did this but maintained the stance that its products remain asbestos-free and completely safe to use.
Further investigation of the Johnson & Johnson documents conducted by Reuters
showed that the company made efforts to hide asbestos contamination from consumers for decades. These reports suggest that people with high financial risks in the company, such as lawyers, scientists, shareholders, and health specialists, assisted in the coverup of contamination reports. Sharing this investigative work made this information public knowledge, and the number of lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson continues to rise.
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Pintas & Mullins Law Firm May Protect Your Rights
If you or a loved one experienced ovarian cancer and used Johnson & Johnson powder products for any period of time, consider seeking legal counsel for your case. Consumer protection laws allow victims to hold negligent companies accountable for dangerous products. No one should have to deal with the financial and emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis due to the negligence of someone else.
Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to discuss your legal options in a free case evaluation. Call us at (800) 794-0444.
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