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Taxotere is a chemotherapy medication given in an injectable form. The generic drug is called docetaxel. It is used in the treatment of specific types of cancer, most often breast, lung, prostate, and stomach cancers. The dosage and treatment given depend on the individual’s condition, their response to the medication, and any other underlying medical conditions. Taxotere is often administered with other types of chemotherapy drugs.

There are common side effects with this medication. Because the drug is given as an injection into the muscle, you may experience pain or swelling at the injection site. Other commonly reported side effects are those found with other chemotherapy drugs, including temporary hair loss, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, and loss of appetite.

The drug also carries a black box warning, which are warnings that appear in the package insert and are required by the FDA to describe how to use the drug safely. The warnings detail serious side effects and are meant for the public and prescribing healthcare providers.

Five complications that have been identified with Taxotere and are included in the black box warning:

• Low blood cell counts
• Fluid retention
• Hypersensitivity reactions
  Liver toxicity
• Toxic death

According to Drugwatch, there were 3007 deaths from adverse reactions to Taxotere that were reported to the FDA adverse event reporting system from 2003 to June 2018.

Medications That Interact With Taxotere

Physicians and pharmacists must be aware of the drug interactions that can happen with the prescription and administration of any medication. When two or more drugs react with each other in your body, this can cause you to experience unexpected side effects.

Drugs that must be considered include over-the-counter medications, common natural supplements, and other prescription medications. In some cases, the drug interaction may cause one of the medications not to work or it may increase the risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction.

Other types of side effects may include stomach ulcers, drowsiness, loss of balance, muscle weakness, and pathological changes to your blood. All chemotherapy drugs may interact with herbal products. Although they are sold as natural, they do have bioactive compounds that can interact with pharmaceutical drugs.

Taxotere contains alcohol. If you are using other drugs, including over-the-counter medications, that have the side effect of making you sleepy, Taxotere can make the side effect worse. Before using any opioid pain medications, muscle relaxers, or medication used for the treatment of anxiety, depression, or seizures, talk with your physician. It may be necessary to change your medication.

Major drug interactions have been reported with the chemotherapy drug carboplatin, which can increase the risk of nerve damage. Neulasta, which is used to raise your white blood cell count after chemotherapy, may alter the effect of Taxotere if it’s given too soon.

Prednisone, Decadron, and dexamethasone, which are steroids used to help support your body while receiving chemotherapy, may trigger minor drug interactions. While taking Taxotere, you should avoid consuming grapefruit or grapefruit juice as it can significantly increase your blood levels of the drug and raises the risk of significant side effects such as nerve pain, numbness, tingling, muscle pain, and weakness. You’re also much more likely to develop anemia and blood problems. Other medications that may trigger a drug interaction include:

• Atazanavir: protease inhibitor
• Clarithromycin: antibiotic
• Indinavir: protease inhibitor
• Itraconazole: anti-fungal
• Ketoconazole: anti-fungal
• Nefazodone: antidepressant
• Nelfinavir: protease inhibitor
• Ritonavir: protease inhibitor
• Saquinavir: protease inhibitor
• Telithromycin: antibiotic

Know This Before Taking This Medication

Taxotere can affect your fertility. You may not be able to get pregnant or father a child after treatment. If you would like a family after your cancer treatment, talk with your doctor about harvesting eggs or sperm before receiving chemotherapy.

It is crucial you do not become pregnant or father a child while on Taxotere. The drug can cause significant damage to a developing child and alter a man’s sperm, so the child is affected. Always tell your doctor, dentist, pharmacist, and nurse if you are taking Taxotere and need treatment for any other medical condition.

Since Taxotere affects your immune system, you should not have any live vaccines during treatment or for the 12 months after treatment has been completed. You should also avoid close contact with anyone who may have had a live vaccine, including the flu vaccine.

Before taking the drug, be sure your doctor knows if you are allergic to Taxotere, and any food or drug allergies you may have.

Call Hotze Runkle to Hold the Manufacturer Accountable

If you experience persistent negative side effects after completing your Taxotere chemotherapy treatment, the attorneys at Hotze Runkle have the experience and resources necessary to protect your rights. The pharmaceutical industry has a legal obligation to ensure that consumers are fully informed before taking drugs. This is called informed consent.

If you were denied information, misled by your physician, or ignored when you expressed concern over side effects, you are not alone. Our compassionate and experienced legal team works hard to seek justice against the negligent parties who have violated your rights.

We understand that you’re already going through enough as you’re dealing with overcoming cancer. Hotze Runkle is a national litigation law firm based in Texas with experience dealing with Taxotere and the unintended effects it has on users. If you have been injured after taking Taxotere, contact us today at (800) 763-6155 for a confidential consultation with a member of our legal team. We will review your case and advise you on your next best steps.

Canalicular Stenosis is an irreversible medical condition that affects a person’s eyes. Many cancer patients develop this condition during or after chemotherapy treatment with Taxotere. Studies have shown adverse side effects while using Taxotere to treat various forms of cancer, such as breast cancer, neck cancer, prostate cancer, and stomach cancer.

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for Canalicular Stenosis. However, there are treatment options. Whether you can undergo a medical procedure to manage your symptoms will depend on various factors. You should discuss a treatment plan with your ophthalmologist.

What Is Canalicular Stenosis?

Canalicular Stenosis is a permanent condition that causes excessive watery eyes and additional symptoms, including:

• Central vision loss
• Swollen eyelids
• Dry eyes
• Headaches
• Sensitivity to light
• Eye infections
• Blurry vision
• Cloudy eye lens

Canalicular Stenosis typically begins as watery eyes during Taxotere chemo treatment. Patients often notice this unusual symptom first but ignore it as a possible side effect of chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, the condition can progress over time, eventually causing irreversible damage to the canaliculus, a structure near the eye responsible for funneling tears from the tear ducts into the nasal cavity.

How Taxotere Causes Canalicular Stenosis

Researchers discovered that secretions from Taxotere travel throughout the body and interact with various fluids, such as blood, urine, and tears. While the secretions travel through a person’s canaliculus, it comes in direct contact with tears. This causes inflammation, resulting in excessive eye-watering, also called epiphora.

Chronic inflammation can lead to eye infections, causing more damage to the canaliculus. Blockages start to form if the Taxotere secretions continue to interact with the tears. This prevents tears from flowing into the nasal cavity as usual.

Eventually, the canaliculus can start to close, blocking tears from passing through entirely. With a build-up of tears on the surface of the eye, there’s nowhere else for them to go. Once one or both canaliculi close, there’s nothing a doctor can do to reopen them.

Treating Canalicular Stenosis

You can’t cure Canalicular Stenosis, but you might be able to treat the symptoms with one of two medical procedures. Both are invasive and expensive. They also come with dangerous side effects and results that aren’t guaranteed.

However, if your ophthalmologist determines you’re a candidate for either surgery, you could potentially find relief for your symptoms.

The first option is called dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). During DCR, the surgeon makes a small incision to access the area near the canaliculus. Then, they create a new passageway to redirect tears around the damaged canaliculus to flow to the nasal cavity. They might also place a stent to keep this new passageway open and prevent the recurrence of eye-watering and other symptoms.

Not everyone is eligible for DCR. If the damage to your canaliculus is too severe to create a new passageway using existing structures, the surgeon might need to perform conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy (CDCR). CDCR involves the surgeon inserting a tiny glass tube called a Jones tube over the blocked canaliculus. This can prevent the tears from building up on the surface of the eye and facilitate travel to the nasal cavity.

Complications of Canalicular Stenosis Surgery

Although DCR and CDCR can be effective in managing or alleviating your symptoms, there are risks. These procedures can lead to a range of debilitating symptoms much worse than the symptoms associated with Canalicular Stenosis.

Possible side effects include:

• Uncontrollable hemorrhaging before and after surgery
• Blindness
• Abnormally fused tissue
• Significant facial scarring
• Sinusitis
• Chronic eye infections
• Migrating stent or Jones tube
• Tissue and nerve damage

You should discuss possible treatment plans with your doctor before proceeding. If your symptoms of Canalicular Stenosis are mild and don’t interfere with your life much, treatment can be as simple as using an over-the-counter eye drop to relieve dry eyes or a topical ointment to control eye-watering.

Contact Us

At Hotze Runkle, we understand the trauma you’ve experienced since your diagnosis of Canalicular Stenosis. You were already dealing with your cancer diagnosis when you discovered an entirely new medical condition you’re forced to treat. The adverse effects of Taxotere can lead to significant physical, emotional, and financial strain. The manufacturer of the drug should be held liable for its negligent actions.

If you were treating your cancer with Taxotere, do not hesitate to contact Hotze Runkle to discuss your available legal options. Our team can review the circumstances of your case and determine whether you might be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer. We will advocate for your rights and fight by your side for the justice you deserve.

Take our Taxotere Evaluation Quiz right now to find out if you qualify for a lawsuit.

After you’ve received the life-changing diagnosis that you have cancer, you likely dealt with a swirl of emotions and worry. Your doctors have discussed your treatment plan with you and you’ve geared up in preparation to fight your cancer battle. Part of your treatment plan included chemotherapy, and you began your treatments with hopes that they would be successful and you would win your cancer fight. For your chemotherapy treatment, you were given the drug Taxotere, which may have given you more side effects than you bargained for.

How Taxotere Causes Nail Side Effects

Taxotere belongs to the class of drugs called taxanes. Taxanes, like Docetaxel (the drug name for Taxotere), are commonly used for chemotherapy to inhibit cancer cell growth. Taxanes are strong drugs and can produce many uncomfortable and severe side effects.

Taxotere has been known to cause painful nail side effects in chemotherapy patients. Researchers have conducted case studies that have shown how Taxotere has affected the nails of patients who took Taxotere.

In a study included in the Yonsei Medical Journey, a chemotherapy patient was reported to have received Taxotere to treat breast cancer. After receiving Taxotere intravenously, she began developing hematomas in her fingernail beds along with experiencing discharge coming from her nail beds. Subsequently, her nails began separating from her nail beds. Four months following her receiving Taxotere, her nails had also rotted and changed colors.

Ways to Combat Nail Side Effects

While there aren’t ways to reverse the nail side effects caused by Taxotere, there are a few things that may help to minimize some of the damage done to your nails and to promote nail health. You may find some of the following tips helpful:

• Hydrate your nails – You may try soaking your nails in natural oils such as coconut or olive oil. Both oils are excellent moisturizers and may help hydrate your nails if you’re experiencing brittle and cracked nails.
• Protect your nails – Do your best to baby your nails. Wear gloves often when handling strong chemicals like cleaning products and when you’re outside. Wearing gloves outside can protect your nails from sun exposure which can be damaging to nails that are already experiencing trauma.
• Trim and clean – It may seem counterproductive since your nails are likely already brittle, discolored, and breaking, but by keeping your nails clean and trimmed, you can reduce the risk that they’ll become infected. Because you are a cancer patient and are immunocompromised as a result, you may be more prone to infections.
• Avoid acetone – You may want to mask any discoloration of your nails by painting them, which is perfectly okay to do. But be sure to avoid any use of acetone when removing your nail polish, as acetone is a drying substance and can further damage nails that are already brittle.

Other Taxotere Side Effects

There are other common side effects that chemotherapy patients who received Taxotere have reported experiencing. Some of these side effects include:

• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Watery eyes, or canalicular stenosis
• Anemia
• Low white blood cell count
• Diarrhea
• Hair loss
• Mouth sores
• Fluid retention
• Numbness in the fingers and toes

Canalicular stenosis, or watery eyes, is a particular side effect that has afflicted many chemotherapy patients who were given Taxotere. Despite this side effect being well-documented in the medical community, many doctors (because they, too, were uninformed) failed to inform their cancer patients of this serious side effect so that their patients could make an informed decision whether to proceed with being given the chemotherapy drug. This is why the injury attorneys at Hotze Runkle are fighting to hold the pharmaceutical makers of the drug accountable for intentionally not disclosing these serious side effects.

Call Hotze Runkle

If you or someone you love has had to fight the hard battle of cancer, and as a result, has had to deal with the severe side effects of the chemotherapy drug Taxotere, you may be entitled to significant compensation. If you have experienced uncomfortable and painful nail side effects from using Taxotere, call the injury attorneys at Hotze Runkle.

We have experience representing injured victims who have been harmed by dangerous pharmaceutical drugs. We may be able to help you get the compensation you may be owed from the manufacturer of Taxotere. They had an obligation to inform you, by way of your physician, of the drug’s debilitating side effects, and they didn’t. Because of their negligence, they may be liable for compensating you.

Call us today at (800) 763-6155 or contact us online for a free case evaluation to discuss your legal options.

If you developed Canalicular Stenosis after taking Taxotere during chemotherapy treatment, you might be entitled to financial compensation.

The drug manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis knew about the dangers of its drug but failed to warn patients and doctors for many years. As a result, many cancer patients experienced a range of adverse side effects, including Canalicular Stenosis, a permanent medical condition.

What Is Canalicular Stenosis?

Canalicular Stenosis is an irreversible condition affecting the canaliculus, a channel-like structure responsible for funneling tears from the tear ducts into the nasal cavity. When functioning correctly, tears spread across the surface of the eye and drain into the canaliculus through tiny holes at the corners of the eyes. The canaliculus pushes the tears into the nasal cavity.

If inflammation of the canaliculus occurs, blockages can begin to develop. Obstructions from chronic inflammation can become so severe that tears aren’t able to flow to the nasal cavity as usual. Instead, the tears build up on the eye’s surface and release when the person blinks.

Typically, excessive eye-watering, also called epiphora, is one of the first symptoms to develop. Without immediate and necessary medical care, more symptoms can occur.

The most common symptoms of Canalicular Stenosis include:

• Chronic eye infections
• Light sensitivity
• Clouded eye lens
• Swollen eyelids
• Blurry vision
• Dry eyes
• Central vision loss

As the canaliculus continues to suffer damage from chronic inflammation and infections, these structures can start closing. When they begin to close, no form of treatment or medical intervention can reopen them.

Possible Link Between Taxotere and Canalicular Stenosis

Medical researchers discovered a link between treating cancer with Taxotere and the development of Canalicular Stenosis. However, just because you’re on a Taxotere regimen doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to experience symptoms of the condition.

According to the results of multiple studies, secretions from Taxotere interact with different fluids, including tears, as it travels around the body. The secretions cause the canaliculus to become inflamed, resulting in blockages. The blockages trigger excessive watery eyes.

If canaliculus inflammation continues, more obstructions can form and prevent the tears from traveling along their normal path. Unfortunately, chronic inflammation is common among cancer patients because many think eye-watering is a side effect of chemo and will stop once they finish treatment. By the time they realize it’s an adverse effect of Taxotere, they already have Canalicular Stenosis.

Holding the Manufacturer Liable for Your Diagnosis

Sanofi-Aventis manufactured Taxotere to treat various cancers, including:

• Breast cancer
• Neck cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Head cancer
• Lung cancer

The drug finds and attacks cancer cells in the body, shrinking them, so they don’t spread. A doctor can administer it intravenously once a week, once every other week, or once every three weeks. The Taxotere regimen doesn’t seem to influence whether a patient experiences negative side effects.

According to lawsuits, Sanofi knew about the risk of developing Canalicular Stenosis while taking Taxotere but didn’t include warnings on original packaging labels. Despite performing studies and discovering the side effects, the manufacturer decided to hide its findings from the Food and Drug Administration, doctors, and patients. It wasn’t until years later that the drug company finally revised its warning labels to include the risk of developing Canalicular Stenosis while on a Taxotere regimen.

Compensation Available for Permanent Canalicular Stenosis

If you developed excessive eye-watering or any symptoms of Canalicular Stenosis, you could pursue a lawsuit against Sanofi. You likely required medical care to treat your symptoms. If you needed to take time off from work, you might not be able to afford your medical bills. You could end up facing financial strain and massive debt. The costs you incurred should not be your responsibility.

The compensation you receive from a lawsuit might compensate for the losses you suffered, such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Medical expenses
• Inconvenience
• Out-of-pocket costs
• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity
• Emotional distress
• Physical impairment or disfigurement

There is a statute of limitations you must follow if you want to sue the manufacturer for compensation. Texas enforces a two-year statute of limitations. That means you have two years from the date of your Taxotere injury to file your lawsuit. Once the statute expires, you could lose your right to pursue a case under these circumstances.

Contact Hotze Runkle Today

If you believe your diagnosis of Canalicular Stenosis resulted from your treatment with Taxotere, contact Hotze Runkle right now. We can discuss the details of your case and determine whether we can pursue compensation on your behalf. The manufacturer should be held accountable for its wrongdoings and the suffering you were forced to endure.

If you want to find out if you’re eligible to file a lawsuit and learn about the available legal options, take our Evaluation Quiz today.