A difficult diagnosis to accept. Since then, the one who already suffered from migraine has seen her headaches get worse, without being able to contain them all. “And since the tumor is located in the frontal area, it also affects my emotions. It makes me hypersensitive. » An invisible handicap for this caregiver, already faced with difficult situations.
Stomach cramps like daggers. Having to stop at the side of the road, bent double. Christelle, a trader in southern Charente, didn’t know it, but it was the tumor that was waking up. It was around ten years ago and the young woman had been taking Androcur for four years already to treat hair loss. She does not make the connection with her treatment. “It was only in 2018 that my gynecologist prescribed a brain MRI, explaining to me the risks of meningioma. I was sure it was a formality. Apart from the stomach pain, I had no signs. I was stunned. » When diagnosed, she immediately stopped the medication. “This allowed the tumor to shrink on its own. » But as she is hormone-dependent, “I can no longer take any pills or wear a hormonal IUD. » No other treatment for hair loss either. A double punishment.
A tumor the size of an orange
“As soon as we stop the medication, the tumor shrinks, whereas a classic meningioma never regresses. This is irrefutable proof of the link between Androcur and these tumors,” insists Emmanuelle Huet-Mignaton, president of the Amavea association, which brings together, at the national level, the victims of these six controversial progestins. Seven years ago, the surgeon removed from this resident of Calvados, treated with Androcur for fifteen years, a tumor the size of an orange which had caused her severe speech problems and paralysis on the right side. of the body. “I had to do months of rehabilitation to learn to speak again.”
The path is not finished. She still lives with four tumors. Like her, “2578 were operated on for a meningioma between 2009 and 2018, after taking a progestin medication. » With lifelong sequelae: fatigue, vision problems, epilepsy. She was never able to return to her job at the Banque de France.
A complaint against
Filed in November by the Amavea association before the Paris judicial court, helped by the Parisian law firm Dante, known for its fight in the Mediator and Depakine scandals, the complaint targets five offenses: administration of a harmful substance, involuntary harm to the integrity of the person, endangering others, failure to report adverse effects and aggravated deception. In 2004, the first cases of meningiomas were reported to the authorities. However, we had to wait until 2019 for the Androcur instructions to mention the risks. “I need to understand who failed and what malfunctioned,” reports Emmanuelle Huet-Mignaton.
