The husband of a mother of-three who died from aggressive ovarian cancer at just 35 has told of how he blames her use of talcum powder for her untimely death — and plans to sue the firm that makes the product.
Jeffrey Wright, now 76, lost his 'slim and fit' wife Maureen to the disease in the 90s, who was mother to their children aged 17, 12 and five at the time.
The first sign that something was wrong was a lump in the left side of her stomach during a fitness class.
Despite undergoing surgery to remove the mass, as well as subsequent chemotherapy, it was later revealed the disease had spread to other parts of her body, including her spine, liver and kidney.
Within five years of her diagnosis, Ms Wright was dead.
As she had no family history of cancer nor other risk factors, he grew curious about reports he'd read linking the disease to talcum powder.
'For as long as I can remember there was always talc in our bathroom,' said Mr Wright, who lives in Essex and is a retired businessman.
'Maureen would use it all over her body after showering. If I kissed her just afterwards, I would say to her that I could smell the talc on her lips.'
Now, Mr Wright is one of thousands of Brits who plan to take on one of world's largest pharmaceutical firms over claims that the bathroom cabinet staple has the potential to cause tumours.
In what could be one of the largest actions of its kind in British history, nearly 2,000 patients and bereaved family members are expected to sign up to a class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson.
Lawyers for the UK claimants say powder sold by the company was contaminated with cancer-causing asbestos, something they allege the pharma giant knew and tried to suppress.
The loss of Mr Wright's wife meant he was forced to quit his retail business to care for her and their children. Her death left life-long scars, he said.
‘They all left school without any meaningful qualifications because they couldn’t settle down to study, sometimes walking out of class in the middle of the day because they were angry about the loss.'
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