Derry woman joins lawsuit over talc cancer claims

Sharon Doherty, from Derry, is one of thousands of people in the UK taking legal action against Johnson & Johnson

A woman from Londonderry is among 1,900 people in the UK taking legal action against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over alleged links between their talcum powder and cancer.

Sharon Doherty was diagnosed with ovarian and fallopian cancer in 2020 but after surgery and six months of chemotherapy, she was recently told her cancer had returned.

Lawyers in the UK action allege that for decades talcum powder was contaminated with carcinogenic asbestos - which they claim was something J&J was aware of but sought to suppress.

J&J denies that and any link between its baby powder, asbestos and cancer.

Talcum powder has been used as a drying agent for decades

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, Ms Doherty said she was told that she had a large ovarian cyst in 2020 and had to get a full hysterectomy after discovering she had ovarian and fallopian tube cancer.

"It was out of the blue and a total worry and your life all of a sudden changes," she said.

Following the major surgery and six months of chemotherapy, Ms Doherty was then told that her cancer had returned.

"I was then told that I have cancer again in three places this time, so I was very shocked because I thought I was on the road to recovery," she said.

"I was told that, particularly with ovarian cancer, it can lie in the soft tissue and regenerate so I am going through treatment again at the moment.

"They have told me now, even with this treatment, that it is between a two to four years prognosis.

"I am a positive person, you have to be positive, I obviously hope that is not the case and I'm trying to put that prognosis aside and do different things for myself."

'I used talcum powder all my life'

Ms Doherty said she began to believe there was an apparent link between asbestos and talcum powder while doing her own research when undergoing chemotherapy.

She had read various articles claiming that there was a link between asbestos and talcum powder.

"I used talcum powder all my life, it was particularly used on me while I was a baby, but it was not just in the talcum powder that had asbestos in it.

"It was in the feminine-hygiene products I was using as a young adult, it was in face powders, it was in dry shampoo which I also always used.

"I was using a lot of products with asbestos in it, so it was then where I started to think this is what happened to me."

Ms Doherty said she wanted "to stand up" with others involved in the group action who, she said, all had "similar stories to myself".

Johnson & Johnson denies any links between its baby powder, asbestos and cancer

Action follows US lawsuit

J&J discontinued mineral-based talc in North America in 2020 - and followed suit in the UK last year - replacing it with cornstarch.

They said this was due to financial pressures and a "misinformation campaign" around the product.

The company has been sued repeatedly in North America, but this is the first time lawyers have represented claimants outside of the United States.

KP Law, who are representing the claimants, has begun the process of litigation, which is expected to start at the beginning of 2025.

Erik Haas, worldwide vice-president of litigation for Johnson & Johnson, said the allegations against the company "defy logic, rewrite history and ignore the facts".

“J&J takes the issue of talc safety incredibly seriously and always has," he said. 

"As our documents show, we have relied upon the most state-of-the-art testing protocols for decades and have been entirely transparent with government institutions and academic researchers regarding our findings.”

Mr Haas also said that the idea that J&J hid the contaminated contents of its products from the public, government and other groups was “inconceivable and false”.