Three Pennsylvania women were awarded a total of $72.6 million by a jury earlier this month for compensatory damages due to dangerous pharmaceuticals. The three women claim hormone replacement therapy drugs manufactured by Pfizer contributed to their development of breast cancer after years of taking the drugs.

Women can suffer from symptoms of menopause and decide to take medication to help alleviate their symptoms. Taking medication should help relieve a condition, but instead these medications caused severe and dangerous side effects for these women. Not only were they then forced to deal with symptoms of menopause, but they also had to battle breast cancer.

The women say they took medications to help with menopause symptoms, but instead of relief from menopause, they were faced with a terrible disease. The emotional toll of being diagnosed with such a devastating disease can be overwhelming. To find out that a medication they took may have contributed to the development of a disease that could have taken their lives only adds to the stress of the situation.

The manufacturer is facing many lawsuits where women faced similar outcomes taking their medication. Women are seeking relief to a condition they can't avoid, but instead of help they faced pain and suffering. The women will now face constant monitoring to make sure the cancer doesn't return, and had to deal with painful side effects of their treatments. Pharmaceutical companies should be responsible for the medications they put on the market, and consumers should understand their rights if certain drugs have dangerous side effects.

Source: The Pennsylvania Record, "Phila. jury awards $72.6 million to plaintiffs in Pfizer hormone replacement therapy case," Jon Campisi, Dec. 7, 2011