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Prempro Breast Cancer and Side Effects  - Free Consultation With a Lawyer or Attorney Specializing in Prempro Cases.

Keywords: Prempro | Lawyer | Injury | Breast | Cancer | Attorney | Victim | Lawsuit

The lawyers and attorneys at our firm are currently offering free case evaluations for women who developed breast cancer or suffered other side effects related to treatment with Prempro.  In addition to increasing the risk of breast cancer, women treated with Prempro face a high risk of other serious side effects including ovarian cancer, gallbladder cancer, lupus, scleroderma, stroke, blood clots, severe asthma, and pulmonary embolisms. Our Prempro side effects lawyers will work hard to make sure that victims of Prempro-related breast cancer and other side effects are fully compensated for their injuries.

Prempro is a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) introduced by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 1996.  It is used to treat hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. At HRT's peak, an estimated 15 million women were on hormone replacement therapy. But no one had conducted a large clinical trial to test its use. Our Prempro side effect lawyers believe that the pharmaceutical companies who pushed HRT therapy on millions of women as a way for them to stay young and healthy were negligent in failing to conduct such clinical trials.

In 2002, a major HRT study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) determined that Prempro and similar drugs significantly increased the risk of stroke, blood clots, heart attacks and breast cancer. The study results were so alarming that the NIH canceled the study, citing risk to the study's participants. The authors of the study suggested that many of the women who used Prempro and other estrogen and progestin combinations should quit and talk to their doctors about alternatives.

Following the publication of the NIH study in 2002, sales of Prempro and other HRT drugs fell sharply.  But for millions of women, the damage was already done and could continue to follow them throughout their lives.  Our Prempro side effect lawyers are committed to holding the manufacturer of this defective drug accountable for the serious injuries caused by Prempro.

Prempro Lawsuits Result in Massive Punitive Damage Verdicts

Wyeth has been named in roughly 5,300 lawsuits over its HRT drugs including Prempro.  In fact, between 2006 and 2008, Wyeth lost four Prempro cases.  Our Prempro side effect lawyers have litigated hundreds of defective drug lawsuits, and we have helped many people in their fight for compensation for their injuries.

In March 2008, Wyeth and Pfizer Inc. were ordered to pay an Arkansas women $27.1 million in punitive damages.  The Arkansas jury had found that Wyeth's Prempro and Pfizer's Provera had caused her to develop breast cancer, and further determined that the companies had shown ``reckless disregard'' for the health risks posed by their HRT drugs and should be punished.  Wyeth's share of the punitive damages came to $19.3 million.

 
This was not the first time Wyeth had been ordered to pay massive punitive damages for Prempro injuries.  A Nevada judge in February 2008 ordered Wyeth to pay punitive damages totaling $58 million to three women who developed breast cancer as a result of its HRT drugs, including Prempro. Our Prempro side effect lawyer will work hard to obtain the best possible financial results for the Prempro victims we represent.

 
Prempro and Breast Cancer
Our Prempro side effect lawyers are currently investigating potential lawsuits on behalf of women who developed breast cancer following treatment with Prempro.  The evidence is clear that Prempro and other estrogen/progestin combinations can actually harm perfectly healthy women. In 2002, the NIH halted a large study after it found estrogen/progestin HRT increased the risk of breast cancer and other side effects substantially.   The purpose of the study, which was scheduled to run until 2005, was to determine whether estrogen plus progestin could prevent heart disease and hip fractures in women between ages 50 and 79 with an intact uterus.

 
The 2002 NIH  study found that that women who were given Prempro were 26 percent more likely to develop breast cancer compared to those in a placebo group. Dr. Jacques Rossouw, director of the NIH at the time, noted that "if you apply that increased risk to an entire population and over several years, the number of women affected increases dramatically and becomes an important public health concern.” The NIH said breast cancer risks alone outweighed the benefits of Prempro and other similar drugs.

More than 16,600 U.S. women (8,506 participants in the estrogen plus progestin group and 8,102 in the placebo group) were participating in the combined estrogen-progestin portion of the trial. Neither the women nor their doctors knew who was taking the active medication. After the risks were identified among the users of Prempro and similar drugs, they were sent letters telling them to discontinue taking those drugs.

Following the publication of the NIH study, millions of women stopped taking Prempro.  Unfortunately, ending Prempro does not end the risk of developing breast cancer.  In March 2008, the NIH released a follow up study that found that women who had ended combination HRT therapy still faced an increased risk of breast cancer.  Women who took estrogen and progestin during the study but stopped in 2002 were still about 27 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than the women who did not take the hormones at all. Researchers also noted a 24 percent increased risk in developing any form of cancer, chiefly lung cancer, among women who had been in the hormone group. Overall, there were 63 more diagnoses of cancer during the follow-up study, or three per 1,000 participants per year, according to the NIH.

Because of the increased risk of breast cancer that continues to follow patients who were treated with Prempro, millions of women must live with the reality that they are more likely to face a diagnosis of this devastating disease.  They  must deal with increased mammograms and other consequences associated with this Prempro side effect risk.  Our Prempro side effect lawyers are working hard to make sure that the victims of  Prempro-related breast cancer receive the justice they deserve. 

Other Prempro Side Effects

Our Prempro side effect lawyers are also offering free consultations to anyone who suffered other side effects known to be associated with Prempro.  The 2002 NIH study found that Prempro and similar drug put women at risk of many other health problems.  Instead of finding that Prempro provided protection from cardiovascular problems, the NIH study actually discovered a 29 percent increase in heart attacks and a 22 percent increase in total cardiovascular disease among women receiving the hormones.  Had Wyeth conducted more comprehensive clinical trials of Prempro, these serious side effects would have been discovered much earlier, and millions of women and their families would have been spared great misery. Our Prempro side effect lawyers intend to make sure the maker of Prempro is held responsible for this negligence.

 
Legal Help for Victims of Prempro Injuries

If you or a loved one developed breast cancer or suffered other Prempro injuries, our Prempro side effect lawyers can help you in your fight against Wyeth.  Please fill out our online form or call us at 1-800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) for a free case evaluation with an experienced Prempro side effect lawyer.