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Talcum powder spilled on a table

Ovarian Cancer – How Did This Happen to Me?

Talcum powder has been linked to ovarian cancer for approximately 30 years and continues to affect women today. Let’s take a look at a hypothetical situation and see how using talcum powder can lead to ovarian cancer…

Marie, a woman in her late 40’s, had been diagnosed with advanced cancer in her ovaries. “How could this happen?” she thought, as almost any woman would. She had never had any significant health issues, she was not infertile, and, in fact, had two children. She had received a clean bill of health throughout her pregnancies and was an overall healthy person. So she began wondering, “What could I have been exposed to all these years that could’ve led to ovarian cancer?” She had been a schoolteacher at the same school for 20 years, so she asked some of her long-time, trusted female colleagues if they had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The answer was no. There was no outbreak in her corner of Birmingham, Alabama, that she or anyone else knew of. What could it be?

She began scouring the Internet for any possible connection between her cancer and its mysterious cause, and one suspicious character kept popping up: talcum powder. Could that be it? For over 30 years she had dusted herself with baby powder, “a sprinkle a day help keeps odor away” as the ads for Johnson & Johnson said. “How could something that’s safe enough for babies cause ovarian cancer?” she thought. “And just what exactly is talcum powder, anyway?”

Talcum powder is made from a mineral (talc) which mostly consists of magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. In its powder form, it is an excellent way of absorbing moisture and reducing friction, hence its use in keeping skin dry and avoiding rashes and has led to its status as a common household item.

Marie did a little more digging on the possible connection between her cancer and talcum powder use. She discovered a 1982 study done by Dr. Daniel Cramer at Harvard that compared 215 women with ovarian cancer to 215 women healthy women as a control group. Dr. Cramer and his team discovered that women who regularly use talcum powder on or near their genitals were at more than three times the risk of having ovarian cancer when compared to nonusers. When similar studies were merged with data from over 15,000 women, the researchers found a 24 percent increased risk for ovarian cancer when talcum powder is used regularly over several years.

If you or someone you love has used baby powder for many years and has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, you should seek legal assistance as soon as possible. You might find that a major manufacturer of one of your common household products is guilty of negligence. Call the Birmingham talcum powder ovarian cancer attorneys at Guster Law Firm, LLC at (205) 581-9777 today for a free consultation.

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