‘I got cancer after using Johnson & Johnson talcum powder – now I’m suing them’
‘I got cancer after using Johnson & Johnson talcum powder – now I’m suing them’
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A cancer patient who was left jobless and ‘seriously contemplated suicide’ is suing Johnson & Johnson, claiming its product is linked to her illness. Julie Whytock, 64, from Hertfordshire, says she developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson (J&J) talc powder ‘at least once a day’ as a young child.
![[Julie Whytock in a wheelchair covered in a light blue blanket]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20250123-WA0004-4f52-e1737721418564.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
After her diagnosis with stage three ovarian cancer last year, Ms Whytock told Metro she was pushed to the brink and contemplated taking her own life after spending 26 weeks in hospital, where she underwent chemotherapy. ‘I seriously was contemplating suicide. Every time a doctor talked to me, they’d say it was a long-term healing process. I couldn’t stand being in hospital anymore,’ she said.
![[Julie Whytock with short hair and a light blue blanket over her neck and shoulders]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20250123-WA0003-b51a-e1737721527249.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘I’ve got three sons and if it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would’ve gotten out of hospital.’. More than 2,000 people have joined a legal case against J&J, claiming they developed a range of cancers after being exposed to asbestos contained in the company’s talcum powder.
![[Julie Whytock wearing earrings]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_20250123_144626-94b9.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
KP Law, the legal firm overseeing the case, says that more than 100,000 could have been diagnosed with different forms of cancer after using the product. J&J has denied that its talc powder contained asbestos, adding it ‘takes the issue of talc safety incredibly seriously and always has’.
![[A bottle of Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder is seen in a photo illustration]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_118927849-1559.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Ms Whytock says J&J’s talc powder has ‘always been a fundamental part of the hygiene routine in my family’ and that she used it with her own children as well. ‘When I was young, I used it when I went swimming, after a bath, when I had a bit of chapping. At least once a day, I’d say.
