It is a beautiful setting, and you get married to the love of your life. You now harbor a wish to birth a child and nurture a family, something you have always wanted. But, the happiness is short-lived as you get diagnosed with uterine cancer four months after your wedding.
This is the story of Kenya Appling, 42, who believes that she contracted the deadly disease from the chemicals in her hair straightening products, something she had been using every month since childhood. To stop the cancer from spreading, she had to let go of her uterus and with it, her dream of becoming a mother.
No amount of money can ever make up for the grief of losing a loved one. When lives are turned upside down by tragedy or negligence, victims may receive huge financial settlements. The compensation signifies that the wrongdoers are accountable for their state of misery.
Kenya Appling filed a hair straightener cancer lawsuit alleging that companies like L’Oreal withheld information about the dangers associated with their hair care products to boost their sales. Going the legal way was her way of making sure that the alleged culprits knew that they could not take their customers for granted.
In this blog, we will recount the real stories of those living in the shadow of despair and loss and their journeys to just compensation and closure.
Living With Terminal Illness Due To PFAS Exposure: A Veteran’s Account
It was in 1975 that Dan Casson gave up his love for music to join the US military. He signed up for the Air Force as a firefighter in crash rescue. His stint involved heading into airplanes engulfed in flames, helping survivors come out alive, while his other mates doused the flames using aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF.
AFFF was the go-to fire suppressant for the military back then. “They lied. Whenever we wanted to know what was in the foam, they would say soap suds! They took all of us, all firefighters, for a ride! ”
However, we all know that AFFF contains anything but soap bubbles. It contains PFAS, or per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, that are carcinogenic. These compounds are toxic and do not degrade in the environment. Many veterans have complained of severe health issues about their stints at bases using AFFF foam.
Even though its production and storage have stopped for more than four decades now, its effects continue to rattle us. Casson and other first responders hold the belief that the military was aware, for a significant period, of the health hazards from using the foam but neglected to inform them about the risks.
For Casson, navigating the process of receiving justice and compensation was an uphill struggle. He had collected extensive medical records as evidence but to no avail. Moreover, his repeated attempts, along with his doctors, to establish a connection between his exposure to PFAS in firefighting foam and his cancer diagnosis fell on deaf ears.
It was only in 2019 that the Department of Veterans Affairs accepted that his cancer was incurred during his service days and granted him 100% disability compensation.
The trauma of seeing his life end in front of his eyes could not be compensated for. But the money could help him start being hopeful again. The dollar bills could open an avenue to a new treatment that he initially could not afford. Moreover, for him, his victory was a beacon of hope for veterans and their families in their struggle for justice.
Camp Lejeune Crisis and the Struggle For Compensation
Between 1953 and 1987, about a million service members and civilians at Camp Lejeune were exposed to toxic drinking water. The residents in and around the Camp used water that was laced with industrial solvents. The toxicity of these waters was found to be up to 3,400 times the safety standards!
Many veterans later reported chronic health issues. Take the case of Marine Corps Sergeant Dave Metzler. After serving for 34 months at Camp Lejeune in the late 1950s, he began experiencing severe body balance issues and hearing loss. His declining health was taking a mental toll on him. Sgt. Metzler felt his disabilities made him a liability, even driving him to attempt suicide at one point.
When Sgt. Metzler filed disability claims in 2014 and 2015, stating his conditions resulted from chemical exposure at Camp Lejeune, the VA reportedly used meaningless rationale to deny relief. A CBS investigation revealed that Camp Lejeune’s claims were being rejected through the use of opaque “subject-matter expert” decisions.
But he persevered. For him, the fight was not about the money but about accountability.
Frustrated by the VA’s callous treatment of her father’s case, Patty Metzler, a nurse practitioner, researched the issues herself. She appealed again in 2017, waiting for a verdict. By 2018, her perseverance paid off when a VA judge finally overruled the previous denials, granting Sgt. Metzler 100% disability.
However, this victory was a little too late. Sgt. Metzler passed away 14 months before the approval, in what his daughter called a “slap in the face” to the VA.
A Hair Straightening Chemical Changed Her Life Forever
At just 32, Bree-Shawna Watts endured a swirling nightmare: invasive cancer, a full hysterectomy, and menopause decades too early. Her dream of having a child got crushed in a matter of months. She knew that her cancer and other health issues were a result of a routine she began at age 5—using chemicals to straighten her natural curls every 2 months with hair relaxers.
According to TorHoerman Law, the underlying compounds present in chemical hair relaxers and straighteners, like paraben and certain metals that release formaldehyde, a carcinogen, upon heating, have been linked to various types of cancers in women.
In the weeks that followed, Watts’ cancer gave way to uterine sarcoma. The surgeries took away her uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. She had to endure 25 rounds of radiation and resorted to hormone therapy to seek relief from the excruciating discomfort.
Watts had no idea that a staple cosmetic item could turn her life upside down. She has filed a lawsuit against L’Oreal and other companies for targeting young black girls with ads that pressurize them to alter their natural beauty for societal acceptance.
With her suit, Watts envisions a future where brands no longer hide the unacceptable risks of disfiguring generations of women. Her resolve strengthens knowing her pain serves a purpose—no young girl should endure what a straightening chemical took from her life forever.
These journeys celebrated above should serve as a reminder that we all have an incredible capacity to persevere. You might be having a difficult time fighting your battles and keeping your spirits alive, but do not lose hope.
Your battle can be a catalyst for change so others do not go through similar fates. So, stay strong. Band together. Keep raising your voice; it will be heard.
