Glyphosate, a probable human carcinogen and the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller, has been linked to chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of cancer that begins in white blood cells (called lymphocytes) in the bone marrow.
Free Confidential Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using or being exposed to Roundup, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against Monsanto and our lawyers can help.
Roundup Exposure Cancer Risk
Concerns about the link between Roundup and cancer in farmers and other agricultural workers workers have recently reemerged, after the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued a warning in March 2015 about the potential health risks of glyphosate herbicides.
One of the types of cancer frequently linked to glyphosate toxicity is non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a disease that attacks the lymphatic system. There are a variety of subtypes of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, including:
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Large Diffuse B-cell Lymphoma
- Follicular Lymphoma
- Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
- Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma
- Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma
- Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL)
- Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) Lymphoma
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
What is Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia?
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a cancer of white blood cells called lymphocytes. These cells are made in bone marrow and fight infections. CLL mainly affects older adults, and accounts for about one-third of all leukemias.
CLL Symptoms
Chronic leukemia typically develops slowly and does not cause any symptoms in its early stages. However, when symptoms do occur, they may include:
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Abdominal pain
- Night sweats
- Weight loss
- Infections
Staging for Chronic Leukemia
A staging system is a standardized way to diagnose how far a cancer has spread. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is staged using the Rai system, which divides CLL into 5 stages:
- Rai stage 0 (low risk): Lymphocytosis and no enlargement of the lymph nodes, spleen, or liver, and with near normal red blood cell and platelet counts.
- Rai stage I (intermediate risk): Lymphocytosis plus enlarged lymph nodes. The spleen and liver are not enlarged and the red blood cell and platelet counts are near normal.
- Rai stage II (intermediate risk): Lymphocytosis plus an enlarged spleen (and possibly an enlarged liver), with or without enlarged lymph nodes. The red blood cell and platelet counts are near normal.
- Rai stage III (high risk): Lymphocytosis plus anemia (too few red blood cells), with or without enlarged lymph nodes, spleen, or liver. Platelet counts are near normal.
- Rai stage IV (high risk): Lymphocytosis plus thrombocytopenia (too few blood platelets), with or without anemia, enlarged lymph nodes, spleen, or liver.
Treatment and Prognosis (Outlook)
Treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery to remove the spleen, and targeted therapy to kill cancer cells. However, the cancer is rarely curable due to the lack of symptoms in its early stages. When CLL is not causing symptoms, a “watch and wait” approach may be advised instead of treatment.
Monsanto Lawsuit Alleges CLL from Roundup Toxicity
In September 2015, a lawsuit (PDF) was filed against Monsanto in New York by Judi Fitzgerald, who claims she developed chronic lymphocytic leukemia after being exposed to Roundup when she worked at a horticultural products company during the 1990s. In 2012, Fitzgerald was diagnosed with CLL. Plaintiff alleges that Monsanto failed to adequately warning about the cancer risk with Roundup.
Do I Have a Roundup Lawsuit?
The Class Action Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Roundup cancer lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new chronic lymphocytic lymphoma cases in all 50 states.
Free Case Evaluation: Again, if you got non-hodgkin’s lymphoma from Roundup weedkiller, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to a settlement by filing a suit and we can help.