Well-known attorney Ben Crump has launched the lawsuit on behalf of Jenny Mitchell, who applied ‘these dangerous products’ to her hair for almost 20 years before being diagnosed with uterine cancer for which she suffered a hysterectomy, complete removal of the organ.
A rare cancer, but on the rise
Hair straightening products used to chemically straighten hair, especially by black women, pose an increased risk of uterine cancer, a new study from the US Institutes of Health published Monday and cited by the lawyers has concluded.
Uterine cancer (not to be confused with cervical cancer) is a relatively rare form of cancer, but its incidence rate is rising in the United States, especially among black women. Those who frequently use these products – more than four times a year – see their risk of developing uterine cancer more than double.
This is the conclusion of this study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It was conducted among 30,000 women living in the United States and of different ethnic backgrounds: African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American. They were followed for 10 years and during this period, 357 of them developed uterine cancer.
The civil lawsuit filed on Friday seeks in particular to obtain damages from the American branch of the French cosmetics giant L’Oréal, as well as other companies.