Over 100,000 potential victims in the US alone

According to Bryan Aylstock, a Florida attorney whose firm protects the rights of consumers who are seriously injured due to defective drugs such as Prempro, the potential victims of this combination therapy are staggering. Here's what he told us in a recent interview:

It's probably in excess of 100,000 victims in this country alone that have been causally diagnosed with breast cancer related to their hormone replacement therapy. Now, there are not that many people who have consulted lawyers. The number of filed cases is in the order of 5,000 at this point. So, there's a large population of people out there who still probably don't know that their use of this combination hormone replacement therapy could have caused their breast cancer. I think it's important for them to know that fact.

When did the risk become known?

The risk of breast cancer had been known for quite some time, according to Aylstock. He continued, "The issue with these hormone replacement combo therapy drugs is the risk of breast cancer, which was known by the drug companies for a long time before it became known to the general public. That has come out through internal documents that have been now made public in the various trials that have occurred involving these drugs."

"The general public, and the physicians who were prescribing this combo therapy, really had no way to know of the increased risk of breast cancer, particularly with these combination therapies, until the World Health Initiative (WHI) actually stopped a study that it was doing on these drugs in 2002. It was an unusual step for them to discontinue the study midstream, but they did it because they were seeing alarming rates of breast cancer in the exposed group of these combination hormone replacement drugs."

No Warnings Issued

Despite the known link between combination therapy drugs and breast cancer, little has been done to warn women about the risks of use. Aylstock told us:

Prior to the World Health Initiative, there was really no warning in the product labeling, and certainly not in the warning section, about the risk of breast cancer. Following the World Health Initiative, there was a series of updated warnings and "Dear doctor" letters that the drug companies began to put on the label, frankly, because they had to as the information had become public.

So, they have begun to warn about the danger, which is why the use of this combination therapy has fallen off so dramatically – and why the breast cancer rates in this country have declined. A lot of people have been saved from that disease because of the World Health Initiative study.

Attorney Aylstock encourages women who took this combination therapy to make sure that they're checked regularly for breast cancer. He says that if they develop breast cancer, it's wise to speak with an attorney about their legal rights and what they can do to hold the drug companies accountable for what they did in conjunction with this product.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to the use of Prempro, contact an attorney to discuss your situation. The consultation is free, without obligation and strictly confidential. To contact a qualified attorney whose practice focuses in this area of the law, please click here.

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