Woman feels 'betrayed' by maker of talcum powder over her cancer diagnosis

Thousands planning legal action against Johnson & Johnson

- MAYA OPPENHEIM

A woman has blamed her ovarian cancer diagnosis on talcum powder and said she feels “betrayed” by the manufacturer.

Jane Campbell, who lives in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, is one of thousands of women in the UK planning legal action against one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms, Johnson & Johnson, over alleged links between talc and cancer.

Lawyers argue the US-based multinational company was aware that having asbestos in its talc products was dangerous from the 1970s onwards, but did not warn customers and continued to both produce and sell the products in the UK until 2022.

Johnson & Johnson denies any responsibility and says independent science “makes clear that talc is not associated with the risk” of the cancers the claimants suffered with.

Ms Campbell, who is 52, said her parents used talcum powder on her after baths when she was young and continued to use it on herself as an adult as well as on her children. She had always considered it to be a safe product.

Discussing her cancer diagnosis, she said she sought medical help after experiencing severe constipation and bladder incontinence and would sometimes wet herself when she stood up.

Ms Campbell, who works as a human resources director, said she was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September 2021 but was forced to use private healthcare after facing delays on the NHS.

“It was very harrowing as I had just lost my dad,” she said of learning her diagnosis. “My husband had two heart attacks in March and April, and then my father died in April. My dad literally just didn't wake up one morning. I knew ovarian cancer was one of the worst cancers to have.”