Elizabeth Fleurisma tears up as she runs her fingers over the scars that map her scalp.
The Lengthy Island mother was shocked to find on the age of 30 that she had a mind tumor the scale of a lime.
She survived a 16-hour surgical procedure and weeks of radiation — but a bit of the tumor stays lodged in her cranium, disrupting her every day life.
“After I got here out of surgical procedure, after I got here house, it’s nearly like I didn’t even know my setting,” Fleurisma, who turns 33 this week, instructed The Publish.
“Generally after I’m attempting to talk, I’ll overlook a phrase,” she added. “It’s not straightforward therapeutic from this stuff or getting again to the place you left off.”
Fleurisma, who lives in Centereach, believes her meningioma got here from using Depo-Provera contraception for eight years.
She’s certainly one of 75 New Yorkers suing Pfizer, the producer of Depo-Provera, for allegedly failing to adequately warn customers of the elevated threat of probably devastating mind tumors.
“I’ve filed instances on behalf of about 150 ladies and have many different purchasers that we’re nonetheless evaluating, and Elizabeth’s tumor is the most important of all those I’ve seen,” Fleurisma’s lawyer, Ellen Relkin, instructed The Publish.
Over 1,700 lawsuits have been individually filed in federal courtroom. Plaintiffs declare that Pfizer knew or ought to have recognized concerning the increased meningioma threat however deliberately hid this data to guard income.
Pfizer instructed The Publish that it “believes these claims are with out advantage and can vigorously defend in opposition to these allegations.”
The assertion continued: “The Firm stands behind the protection and efficacy of Depo-Provera, which has been utilized by thousands and thousands of girls worldwide and stays an necessary remedy choice for girls looking for to handle their reproductive well being.”
What’s Depo-Provera?
Reproductive well being was prime of thoughts for Fleurisma after she gave delivery to her son in 2011 on the age of 18.
She experimented with contraception tablets, however discovered that she struggled to take them persistently.
Her gynecologist recommended Depo-Provera, a well-liked contraceptive that has been used in some unspecified time in the future by practically 25% of sexually energetic ladies.
The injection is given within the higher arm or buttock each three months.
It incorporates progestin, an artificial hormone that forestalls being pregnant by pausing ovulation, blocking sperm from reaching any eggs and making the uterine lining unsuitable for implantation.
Analysis suggests that extended use of sure progestins — together with medroxyprogesterone acetate, like in Depo-Provera — considerably will increase the danger of creating intracranial meningiomas.
“The connection between intercourse hormones and meningioma tumors has been recognized for the reason that Twenties, and the presence of progesterone receptors in meningioma tissue has been reported for the reason that Nineteen Seventies,” Fleurisma’s swimsuit reads.
“A number of scientific research have established that progesterone, its artificial analogue progestin, and Depo-Provera specifically, trigger and/or considerably contribute to the event and progress of intracranial meningioma tumors.”
These slow-growing tumors come up from the meninges, the membranes that shield the mind and spinal twine. They’re often benign, which means they don’t usually unfold like most cancers, however they will press on close by mind tissue, nerves or vessels.
Fleurisma doesn’t recall her gynecologist speaking along with her about doable unintended effects of Depo-Provera, solely that there was a really slim likelihood she might get pregnant.
Potential unintended effects listed on the label embrace bone mineral density loss, a barely elevated threat of breast most cancers, blood clots, stroke, ectopic being pregnant, extreme allergic reactions and lack of imaginative and prescient, amongst others. Meningiomas aren’t talked about.
Pfizer claims it requested the US Meals and Drug Administration so as to add a warning after reviewing new analysis in 2023 suggesting a hyperlink between Depo-Provera use and meningiomas, based on Reuters.
The FDA reportedly rejected the request, saying that “the findings of the out there observational research alone don’t help the addition of a warning.” Pfizer resubmitted the FDA software in June 2025.
Inside Fleurisma’s emotional battle
Fleurisma stated she began taking Depo-Provera in 2014 on the age of 21. She had no subject till early 2023.
“I used to be having extreme complications, fatigue,” Fleurisma recalled. “It was excruciating ache that I saved feeling, and I wasn’t in a position to bear it anymore.”
She rushed to the hospital one night time after feeling her temperature rising. Medical doctors revealed the unthinkable — a mind tumor.
“It was very surprising information, as a result of I’ve by no means been by a disaster like this earlier than,” Fleurisma stated.
The months that ensued are a blur. She had a craniotomy in July 2023 at Stony Brook College Hospital, however not all the tumor may very well be eliminated.
That meant she needed to bear radiation 5 occasions every week for a few month, a complete of 27 periods, based on her lawsuit.
These appointments, every lasting lower than two hours, had her sporting a radiation masks that seemed prefer it got here out of “Star Wars.”
The masks held her head and neck in place, permitting for exact supply of the radiation.
“You type of simply lay there,” Fleurisma stated of the remedy.
“[The staff asked], ‘What would you prefer to take heed to to assist preserve calm?’ ” she added. “And I’m simply pondering of the subsequent trip I need to take, my favourite meals, to maintain your thoughts off of what’s actually occurring.”
On the street to restoration
Restoration has challenged Fleurisma at each flip, from the large hurdles to the tiny frustrations.
She despatched her son, now 14, to briefly stay along with his father as a result of she couldn’t look after him.
And she or he watched in horror because the scars took form and her hair fell out.
The battle isn’t over. Fleurisma meets along with her radiologist yearly to verify the remaining tumor piece hasn’t grown.
She stated in her swimsuit that she nonetheless experiences imaginative and prescient troubles, complications, nausea and dizziness.
Earlier than this ordeal, Fleurisma labored as a residential supervisor supporting adults with mental and developmental disabilities.
“As quickly as I discovered concerning the prognosis, every thing stopped from there as a result of I couldn’t bear these complications at work,” she stated.
“I used to be within the technique of recertifying [as a certified nursing assistant] and in addition turning into a psychological well being hygienist, so all of this stuff had been placed on maintain. Two years later, now I’m again the place I began, so it’s not straightforward.”
She’s now finding out to turn out to be a medical assistant within the hopes of becoming a member of the pediatrics area.
Fleurisma stopped taking Depo-Provera in 2023 on the recommendation of her neurosurgeon.
She sued Pfizer in March 2025 to “let ladies know that they’ve a voice.”
“Some ladies … don’t ask questions, and that’s what I didn’t do,” she added. “You’ve got a voice, you converse in your well being, and also you handle your well being.”
