Women plan UK legal action over Johnson and Johnson talcum powder cancer claims
Deborah, who did not want to be identified by her real name, also lives in Derbyshire, and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 29, just two weeks after she and her husband had started trying for a baby.
“I used talcum powder for years as a teenager,” she says.
“Literally all I had was some stabbing pain on a Sunday night. I went to the doctor and was sent for an ultrasound on the Tuesday.”
During the scan, a tumour was found on Deborah’s ovary. A few days later she had an operation, at which point doctors told her there was a risk the cancer had spread to her womb.
“Within two weeks of the first symptoms, I’d had a full hysterectomy,” she says.
“I went from excitedly planning for a baby to having all of my parts removed.”
Deborah’s diagnosis was 30 years ago, and she and her husband ultimately went on to adopt.
But she still feels angry that she was robbed of the chance to conceive naturally.
“If [J&J] knew, they shouldn’t have been doing it,” she says.
KP Law, representing the claimants, has begun the process of litigation, which is expected to start at the beginning of 2025.
In the US, the firm has been sued by more than 62,000 people and at least $13bn has been paid out or set aside in response to the action.
Cases there have seen the company found liable for mesothelioma – an asbestos-specific cancer – and gynaecological cancers women suffered after using talc, with billions of dollars awarded in damages.
