Three months after a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record-setting $110.5 million to a Virginia woman who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer linked to the company’s talcum-based products, another jury in California has dwarfed that judgment, handing down a $417 million verdict in a similar suit. [More]
cancer
California To List Roundup Ingredient On List Of Cancer-Causing Chemicals
By 6.27.17
The state of California will add glyphosate — the main ingredient in weed-killer Roundup — to a list of chemicals known by the state to cause cancer next month, signaling just the latest battle for Roundup manufacturer Monsanto after the company was accused of writing at least some of an academic research paper used to demonstrate glyphosate’s safety. [More]
Jury Awards Woman $110.5M In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
By 5.5.17
More than a year after a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer linked to the company’s talcum-based products, another jury in the state awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in a similar lawsuit. [More]
FDA Warns 14 Companies For Selling Unproven Cancer ‘Cures’
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Treating cancer can be a painful, drawn-out process, and there’s no guarantee of a cure. Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill that can get rid of cancer, or prevent it from occurring in the first place. That hasn’t stopped a number of companies from making unproven promises about products they claim will remedy everything from AIDS to diabetes.
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FDA Links 9 Deaths, Rare Form Of Cancer, To Breast Implants
By 3.22.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
When you introduce a medical device into your body, there’s always the chance that things could go awry: For example, a breast implant could shift, leak, or otherwise interfere with your health. Now, after years of studying the issue, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says there appears to be a connection between breast implants and a rare form of cancer that has claimed at least nine lives. [More]
Monsanto May Have Ghostwritten Parts Of Reports Concluding That Roundup Is Safe
By 3.15.17
Glyphosate, the main chemical in the weed-killer Roundup, is one of the most popular herbicides on the planet, but newly unsealed court documents suggest that Roundup’s manufacturer, Monsanto, may have written at least some of an academic research paper used to demonstrate glyphosate’s safety. [More]
Tanning Salon Barred From Claiming Indoor Tanning Is Safer Than Sitting In The Sun
By 12.22.16
Because there’s no guarantee that willfully exposing your skin to the sun won’t increase the risk of cancer, whether you’re basking in the rays of a UV lamp or sunning on the beach, a New York tanning salon company has agreed to a settlement that bars it from making misleading health-related claims regarding the harms and benefits of indoor tanning. [More]
Former Pharma Execs Accused Of Boosting Fentanyl Sales By Bribing Doctors With Sham Speaking Engagements
By 12.9.16
Fentanyl is an incredibly potent opioid painkiller; it acts quickly and powerfully, but doesn’t last as long as others, meaning its medical application is limited. So if you’re a drug company trying to boost sales of your new fentanyl spray, how do you sell more of a product that very few people have a real need for? You could bribe doctors with paid “speaking engagements,” take them out and show them the “best nights of their life,” all so they write prescriptions for patients who probably shouldn’t be getting your drug. [More]
Cancer Centers Tripled Ad Spending In Last Decade; Are They Pushing Hope Or Hype?
By 7.18.16
If you watch cable TV — especially basic cable during the daytime — you’ve likely seen your share of heartwarming ads showing off cancer survivors who were saved from the brink by the handsome physicians and nurses at [Fill In The Blank] cancer treatment center. Over the last decade, direct-to-consumer marketing by cancer centers has soared, with much of that spending concentrated in the hands of about two dozen operators. However, some doctors are concerned that these ads aren’t selling patients on the reality, but on the experiences of a few rare cases. [More]
$25M Government Study Finds Cell Phone Radiation Causes Cancer In Rats
By 5.27.16
A newly released study from the National Toxicology Program, a division of the National Institutes of Health, has found a link between the kind of radiation emitted by cell phones and cancer in rats. [More]
Indoor Tanning Company Issuing Refunds After Claiming Tanning Won’t Increase Cancer Risk
By 4.14.16
Because there is no magical indoor tanning system that uses UV lamps and comes with a 100% guarantee you will not get cancer from using it, a company that marketed indoor tanning systems will have to pay out refunds to consumers under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
Nearly 1/3 Of Cancer Survivors Face Financial Burden After Diagnosis, Treatment
By 3.15.16
The cheery optimists on cable TV might have you believe that a cancer diagnosis will transform your average mild-mannered American into an exceedingly wealthy and lethal drug kingpin in a matter of months, but a new study shows that for many cancer survivors, the disease puts a significant burden on their finances — and that these money problems can have further negative impact on their health and well being. [More]
Jury Awards $72 Million In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit
By 2.24.16
In the first of what looks to be many verdicts and/or settlements involving allegations that Johnson & Johnson ignored a possible link between cancer and its talcum-based products, a jury in Missouri has ordered the company to pay a total of $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. [More]
World Health Organization Report Links Bacon, Hot Dogs, Other Processed Meats To Cancer
By 10.26.15
You might want to put down your daily hot dog snack while you read this one: a new report from the World Health Organization says bacon, ham and other sausages are a major cause of cancer, putting processed meats in the same category as carcinogens like tobacco, arsenic, asbestos and alcohol. [More]
Ad Watchdog: Dietary Supplement Claimed To Prevent Cancer
By 5.11.15
Government regulation of the nutritional supplement industry is not perfect, but the Food and Drug Administration does impose a very important rule on them: products sold as supplements rather than drugs can’t advertise themselves as able to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any diseases. Once they do that, they’re drugs. Yet one supplement’s marketing caught the attention of two industry self-regulation bodies before the FDA: a supplement called “Big C” that totally does not promise to prevent cancer. [More]
Airline Really Sorry For Telling Cancer Patient She Couldn’t Fly Without Doctor’s Note
By 4.8.15
Alaska Airlines is blaming a “communication breakdown” for an embarrassing incident that resulted in a 51-year-old cancer patient and her family being removed from a plane to San Jose, CA, by an employee who said the woman could not fly unless she had a note from her doctor. [More]
Science Sez: No Evidence That Bras Cause Breast Cancer
By 9.5.14
Some people believe that wearing a bra might interfere with lymph circulation and waste removal from the breast, possibly increasing the risk of breast cancer. But according to newly published research, there’s no evidence indicating that sporting a bra leads to a heightened cancer risk. [More]
Woman Accused Of Faking Cancer To Get Donations Arrested On Her Way To Film TV Show
By 8.19.14
An Illinois woman who’s been accused of pretending both she and her son have cancer in order to scam people out of money was reportedly on her way to film an interview for the Dr. Phil show when cops caught up with her, warrant in hand. [More]
