Staying Informed About Medication Safety and Cancer Risks

The medications we take are supposed to protect our health and help us recover from serious illnesses and injuries. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Some medications cause more harm than good. Dangerous and defective medications can present a variety of serious health risks—including cancer risks in some cases.

With this in mind, before you start taking a medication, it is important to try to make sure you have as much information as possible. Likewise, if you are currently taking a medication, you should try to make sure you are up-to-date on the latest safety alerts and warnings (if any). When taking any type of medication, it is important to monitor for potential side effects and symptoms as well—as the drug companies don’t always know (or disclose) the risks their drugs present.

Where to Find Information About the Cancer Risks Associated with Your Medications

There are a few places you can look to find information about the cancer risks (if any) associated with a medication that you are either taking or thinking about taking in the future. These places are:

• Your Doctor’s Office – Your doctor’s office should be able to tell you about any cancer risks (or other risks) associated with any medications that you have been prescribed. If your doctor has recommended a medication that you are not currently taking, your doctor should be able to advise you of any known risks associated with this medication as well.
• The Medication’s Prescribing Information – Prescribing information for medications that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is available through the FDA’s website. If you visit the FDA’s Online Label Repository, you can search for the brand name of the drug you are taking (or thinking about taking) to find out if any cancer warnings have been issued.
• FDA Warnings and Recalls – Along with prescribing information, information about drug warnings and recalls is available through the FDA’s website as well. If you visit the FDA’s Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts, you can either search for your medication or browse the list of recent administrative actions.

While these aren’t the only places you can find information about the cancer risks associated with a particular medication, they should be among the most up-to-date and the most reliable. You can check the drug company’s website as well; and, if you have concerns because of something you saw on the news or read on social media, you should be able to use the sources listed above to obtain verification.

This brings up another important point: Unless you are relying on a trustworthy source, you should be careful about relying on any drug-related information you find online. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and various sources may publish inaccurate or misleading information for a variety of different reasons.

At the same time, if you can’t find information about a cancer risk associated with a drug you are taking (or thinking about taking), this doesn’t necessarily mean that the risk doesn’t exist. As we said above, drug companies don’t always know all of the risks their medications present—and, sometimes, they withhold information that they are legally required to disclose. If you have concerns about your health for any reason, you should talk to your doctor as soon as possible.

Possible Early Signs of Medication-Related Cancers

Medications can present a variety of cancer risks. While all forms of cancer have unique symptomology and can impact patients’ lives in different ways, the early signs of many forms of cancer are largely the same. For example, the American Cancer Society identifies all of the following as being among the “more common” signs and symptoms of cancer generally:

• Fatigue or extreme tiredness
• Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
• Loss of appetite
• Stomach pain, nausea and vomiting
• Swelling or lumps not associated with physical trauma
• Pain (especially with “no known reason, that doesn’t go away or gets worse”)
• A cough or sore throat that doesn’t go away
• Unexplained bleeding or bruising
• Changes in bowel or bladder habits or movements
• Vision or hearing problems
• Headaches
• Fevers or night sweats

These are just examples, and these can all be symptoms of other medical conditions as well. With this in mind, if you have concerns about cancer related to a medication that you have been taking, it is important not to make any assumptions, but it is equally important to make sure that you receive an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible.

Your Legal Rights After a Cancer Diagnosis Linked to a Dangerous or Defective Drug

For patients who are diagnosed with cancer linked to a dangerous or defective drug, taking legal action can be an important part of the coping and recovery process. It’s no secret that cancer treatment can be incredibly expensive, and living with cancer can negatively impact all aspects of a patient’s life.

If a drug company is responsible for your cancer diagnosis, you can—and should—fight to hold the drug company accountable. This starts with hiring an experienced mass tort lawyer to represent you. An experienced mass tort lawyer will be able to sue the drug company on your behalf and seek full compensation for your financial and non-financial losses.

In this scenario, you have the right to hire a lawyer at no out-of-pocket cost. You shouldn’t have to pay anything up front, and you shouldn’t have to pay anything at all unless you win. If you need to know more about taking legal action for a cancer diagnosis linked to a dangerous or defective drug, our lawyers are available to speak with you in a free and confidential consultation.

Schedule a Free and Confidential Consultation with a Mass Tort Lawyer at Searcy Denney

Do you need to know more about seeking financial compensation for your (or a loved one’s) cancer linked to a prescription drug or over-the-counter medication? If so, we strongly encourage you to get in touch. To speak with an experienced mass tort lawyer at Searcy Denney in confidence as soon as possible, please call 800-780-8607 or request a free consultation online today.