If you are experiencing watery eyes and blurry vision after undergoing chemotherapy, it’s important that you don’t ignore these symptoms. What you and your doctor may not realize is that there is a newly recognized side effect coming to light of taking Taxotere, a drug commonly used in chemotherapy treatment.
Studies are clear that the use of this drug can lead to a serious and permeant eye condition known as canalicular stenosis. The initial symptoms of this disorder include runny or watery eyes. Eventually, the condition can cause changes with your vision and require expensive and risky eye surgery.
Not only are your battling cancer, but you are also now forced to battle another condition that is impacting the quality of your life. You haven’t been adequately warned about what to watch for, because the manufacturer of Taxotere has not taken a proactive approach in advising doctors and patients of the risk factors.
Where does that leave you? Stuck with more medical bills and the frightening possibility that your eyes may never be the same again. After all that you’ve fought for and been through, you deserve better.
Hotze Runkle PLLC is here to help protect your rights and make sure that you get the compensation you deserve. We have experienced attorneys with both the skills and resources available to take on this drug company on your behalf. If you or a loved one is suffering from canalicular stenosis after being given the drug Taxotere, don’t wait, get our legal team on your side now. Take our quiz to get started.
What Is Taxotere and How Does It Work?
Taxotere is a cancer-fighting medication that has been approved by the FDA. It works by interfering with the growth of cancer cells and helps prevent them from spreading to other areas of the body. Taxotere is one of the main drugs that is used to treat breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, and head or neck cancer.
Taxotere is used in combination with other chemotherapy drugs and is given through an infusion into a vein. It may be administered as much as once a week in some cancer patients. The dosage and how often it is administered depends on the type and stage of cancer, as well as the patient’s height, weight, and other factors.
What Are the Side Effects of Taxotere?
All drugs sold in the United States must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration or the FDA. The FDA requires that all side effects must be disclosed by the manufacturer. It also has a system in place for doctors and patients to report side effects that they have suffered or come across. The more common and reported side effects listed for Taxotere include some of the following:
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Bleeding gums
- Blood in urine or stool
- Chest pain
- Chills
- Tingling or numbness in limbs
- Dizziness
- Dry eyes
- Nosebleeds
- Sore throat
- Muscle pain
- Irregular heartbeat
Unfortunately, there is another major side effect of the drug that has been studied but has not been readily disclosed by the drug manufacturer. That side effect is a serious eye condition called canalicular stenosis.
What Is Canalicular Stenosis and How Does It Impact the Eyes?
Canalicular stenosis is an eye condition that impacts the complex web of tear ducts and sacs. Your body produces tears all the time in an effort to keep the eyes free from debris, as well as moisturized. Blinking takes these tears from the tear duct and spreads them across the entire surface of the eye. Tears are funneled through a channel known as the canaliculus and down into your nasolacrimal duct.
What happens with canalicular stenosis is that the channel itself begins to close off and becomes obstructed. This is why the main symptom of the condition is watery or runny eyes. With the channel blocked off, the tears have nowhere to go but running down your face. While it seems like a minor inconvenience, it is a serious condition that can impact the quality of your life and the health of your vision.
How Is Taxotere Responsible for Causing Canalicular Stenosis?
A study in the American Academy of Ophthalmology lays out how the chemotherapy drug Taxotere has been found to contribute to the condition of canalicular stenosis. The drug has the ability to pass through into a person’s bodily fluids, which includes the tears. Taxotere in the tears may be responsible for chronic inflammation in the canaliculi. This chronic inflammation and irritation lead to canalicular stenosis.
Another newly published study in the National Center for Biotechnology Information finds that cases of the condition were more prevalent in patients that received weekly treatments of the drug. However, patients who received the treatment less often have still developed the condition. What’s more, the study found that stopping the drug did not stop symptoms or reverse the condition.
These studies highlight the fact that this is a newly recognized side effect of the drug, one not originally disclosed by the manufacturer of the drug. In fact, it is still not widely known, even in the medical profession. If you have experience watery eyes while undergoing or following chemotherapy treatment with Taxotere, contact your doctor immediately. The earlier it’s detected, the easier it is to treat the condition.
Are There Treatment Options If I Have Canalicular Stenosis?
Canalicular stenosis can be irreversible, but there are treatment options. The sooner you recognize the symptoms and get treatment, the better your outcome. The course of treatment will depend on how severe your case of canalicular stenosis is. A mild case may only require antibiotics and warm compresses to help ease the symptoms. Some physicians may even prescribe a course of steroids to treat the condition. Unfortunately, for advanced cases of canalicular stenosis, the only viable treatment option is an expensive and delicate surgery on the eye.
The Journal of American Medical Association Ophthalmology highlights the detailed surgery that can help alleviate canalicular stenosis by implanting small glass tubes into the canaliculus, so that normal tear movement can resume. The surgery is intricate, expensive, and comes with its own set of risks. Infection and surgical error are always risk factors in any procedure. However, there are the added risks of the body rejecting the glass tubes and attacking them. There can even be some scarring and bleeding as well. These complications may result in more medical bills and more vision complications down the road.
Why Didn’t I Know About This Side Effect and What Can I Do If I Have Canalicular Stenosis?
It’s frightening and unfortunate that you probably didn’t know about the possibility of this side effect, because the drug company didn’t want you to know. Sanofi-Aventis, the maker of Taxotere is a multi-billion-dollar corporation. They are responsible for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of the drug. Recently there have been more and more scientific studies linking Taxotere to canalicular stenosis.
In fact, other studies have also linked Taxotere to permanent hair loss, as well, another side effect not previously disclosed. Sanofi-Aventis is in the midst of battling lawsuits, particularly from breast cancer survivors, over permanent hair loss. However, this hasn’t seemed to have given them pause in their efforts to continue to prop up their drug and continue to market it.
What can you do if you’ve received Taxotere treatment and have canalicular stenosis? You can fight back for the compensation you deserve to pay your medical bills and take back your life. At Hotze Runkle PLLC, we know it is a daunting task to try to take on a giant pharmaceutical company, but we are up to the task. We want to aggressively pursue legal action that will earn you fair compensation as well as hold the manufacturer accountable for their actions.
How Can Hotze Runkle PLLC Help Me?
At Hotze Runkle PLLC, we will aggressively fight to protect your rights after this pharmaceutical company violated your trust. There has been no proactive approach on their part to warn doctors or consumers about the unfortunate side effect of canalicular stenosis. We have experienced attorneys with all the resources necessary to take on the makers of Taxotere and fight for the victims they’ve injured.
If you or a loved one is suffering from watery or runny eyes following treatment with Taxotere, seek medical and legal help now. We encourage you to take this quiz to find out more about Taxotere and your potential case. You know how to fight to regain your health – let us help you fight to gain the compensation you deserve.