Leukemia Patients May Suffer From Heart Disease as Well

Tasigna anti-cancer chemotherapy has the deadly side effect of causing atherosclerosis, a hardening, and thickening of major arteries leading to the extremities, heart and brain.

Monday, October 30, 2017 - Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a deadly form of cancer which in its chronic late stages requires the most aggressive form of chemotherapy treatment. Tasigna (nilotinib) has been the drug of choice for treating CML since replacing its predecessor Gleevec. Shortly after bringing Tasigna to market, Novartis AG, makers of both Gleevec and Tasigna issued a warning in conjunction with the Canadian health department, Health Canada, telling cancer physicians that a link had been established between those patients that had switched to Tasigna and a deadly blood disorder atherosclerosis, a narrowing, and clotting of the arteries leading to the legs, arms, heart, and brain. Research indicated as early as 2011 that roughly one in four Tasigna patients suffered from either vascular disease or peripheral artery disease, a condition that they did not have before taking Tasigna.

Were it not bad enough that thousand of Tasigna patients were given the drug without knowing of the deadly side effect, it has come to light from the testimony of company whistleblowers that Novartis had foreknowledge of the Tasigna atherosclerosis link and chose to do nothing to warn the American medical community or the general public. Novartis knew that the side effects of using Tasigna were greater even than the disease in which it was intended to treat. Using Tasigna can lead to such severe health complications as necrosis of the toes and feet requiring amputations, as well as blood clots that cause paralysis from strokes and even sudden death from heart attacks. Atherosclerosis is irreversible and the only way to treat it is to cease taking Tasigna immediately.

Although too late for thousands of Tasigna patients suffering from atherosclerosis, Novartis has finally begun to take responsibility and warn the public and health officials about the serious atherosclerosis consequences of taking the drug. Doctors are now required to prescreen potential Tasigna patients and those with even the slightest blood or heart irregularities are advised against using the drug. In addition, healthy individuals given Tasigna are advised to be monitored by their cancer physician for the earliest indication that atherosclerosis has set in. Such early indications include leg, foot, or toe numbness, tingling or pain, chest pains, body hair loss, fatigue and light-headedness amongst many other symptoms.

If you have been given Tasigna for your anti-cancer chemotherapy and have subsequently been diagnosed with the atherosclerosis-related vascular disease, you may want to consult an attorney to sue Novartis for your lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other related expenses. Having alerted the Canadian public years earlier of these deadly side effects the company failed to so notify cancer patients in America. Lawsuits now allege that had the Tasigna cancer patient been advised of the atherosclerosis risks of Tasigna, they would have chosen to use or continue to use the safer Gleevec cancer treatment.

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Lawyers for Tasigna Atherosclerosis Lawsuits

Attorneys handling Tasigna lawsuits for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma offer free, no-obligation case review for individuals and families who believe they may have grounds to file a Tasigna lawsuit. Working on a contingency basis, these attorneys are committed to never charging legal fees unless they win compensation in your Tasigna lawsuit. The product liability litigators handling Roundup claims at the Onder Law Firm have a strong track record of success in representing families harmed by dangerous drugs and consumer products.