Is Depo-Provera birth control to blame for this woman’s brain tumor? A lawsuit alleges Pfizer failed to warn of potential risk

Some women believe that the birth control shot caused their meningiomas, a tumor that grows from the lining of the brain.

WESTWEGO, La. — Robin Phillip’s fresh haircut is dyed her favorite color — green. But beneath the dye job is a scar that runs along the side of her head, the result of two craniotomies.

For years, Phillip, 45, suffered from what she thought were migraines. It wasn’t until early 2018, when she had to leave her warehouse shift to drive to the hospital, that she learned her headaches were a symptom of something more serious. She said she nearly crashed on the drive to the emergency room, blinded by pain.

“The nurse said, ‘OK, what’s your pain from 1 to 10?’ I said 11, 12,” Phillip said. “They put me in the chair, and I don’t remember nothing after that.”

Phillip awoke later to shocking news: She had an intracranial meningioma — a tumor of the lining of the brain. She needed emergency surgery.

After the procedure, Phillip lost vision in her left eye and had to re-learn how to walk. Unable to work, she lost her apartment and moved in with her mother until she could get back on her feet.