'I thought Depo-Provera contraceptive injection was safe': Women speak out after brain tumour diagnoses

Women in Scotland who developed a type of brain tumour after years of using a contraceptive injection are seeking answers amid growing legal action.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is being sued over alleged links between Depo-Provera and serious health issues.

Depo-Provera has been used by millions of women worldwide since the 1980s. Given every three months, it is regarded by many as a convenient and effective form of contraception.

But a study published in the BMJ in 2024 reported an association between prolonged use of the contraceptive (more than one year) and an increased risk of developing meningioma, a type of tumour that develops in the membranes surrounding the brain.

For Tammy Croston, the issue is deeply personal.

The mother of two from Fife was diagnosed with multiple meningiomas after developing persistent double vision in 2018.

“I never expected to hear the words, ‘you have brain tumours,’” she told STV News.

Tammy underwent surgery to relieve pressure on her optic nerve. But when one of the tumours later grew back, she required a craniotomy – a procedure in which part of the skull is temporarily removed to access the brain.

The operation left her without the use of one eye.

“Your face is the first thing people look at and people are always looking, always staring, ‘oh your glasses steamed up hen’, you get that a lot, or ‘what’s wrong with your eye’ and it’s having to go over that consistently.

“That’s the thing that affects you most as a woman, that you’re never going to look like a full person again. That’s the worst bit for me.”

Tammy had used Depo-Provera for around 16 to 17 years.

“It was such an easy contraception to be on as a woman,” she said. “You didn’t have to think about it.”

After learning about the BMJ study through social media, Tammy began to question whether there could be a connection between her long-term use of the contraceptive injection and her diagnosis.

She stopped using the medication a few years before the side effects were updated in 2024, and before the manufacturer and medicines regulators added warnings about the potential risk between prolonged use of Depo-Provera and meningioma.

“I think it’s a scary thing to come to terms with,” she said. “This is given to you by medical staff, whether it be a nurse or a doctor. And no one told me.”

Tammy now runs a Facebook support group for Scottish women affected by meningioma and other serious symptoms who have also used Depo-Provera.

One of those women is Trish Saunders from Aberdeen.

Trish was prescribed the contraceptive injection as a teenager to help manage painful periods and continued using it for almost two decades.

A scan in her thirties revealed a meningioma behind her eye.

“It all felt surreal,” she said. “Even now, thinking back to it, it still feels surreal.”

She later underwent brain surgery to remove the tumour.

“If I’d been told about the potential risk, I don’t think I would have stayed on it,” she said. “I would have looked for a different contraception.”

Trish has been left with health complications and deep anxiety about her health.

“It’s left me with this constant anxiety and worry. That’s really how it’s changed me as a person. It just makes me continually connect any slight headache…I’m just there thinking, is it another tumour?”

Both women are among a growing number of people exploring legal action relating to Depo-Provera.

Patrick Maguire, a solicitor with Thompsons Solicitors, says his firm has received more than 100 enquiries from women across Scotland and formally represents more than 50 claimants.

“We’ve been inundated by calls,” he said.

Patrick Maguire, a solicitor with Thompsons Solicitors. STV News

“It’s quite shocking when you think that many Scottish women have been affected over the years, who’ve for years simply been suffering in silence. It’s certainly the biggest, quickest uptake I have seen in any of the group actions that I’ve ever been involved in.”

The Court of Session has granted permission for a group action to proceed, allowing women with similar claims to be represented collectively.

Mr Maguire said claimants will still need to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that use of the contraceptive injection caused the conditions for which they are seeking compensation.

“There is a lot still to be done on the evidential side,” he said.

The solicitor was clear about what he wanted to achieve for the claimants from Pfizer.

He said: “They should apologise, they should stand up, they should admit they’re wrong and they should pay each and every victim of this scandal fair and just compensation.”

In 2024, Pfizer updated product information relating to Depo-Provera following emerging evidence concerning meningioma risk.

The company told STV News that patient safety remains its top priority.

A spokesperson said: “We conduct rigorous and continuous monitoring of all our medicines, including assessments of reported adverse events, in collaboration with health authorities around the globe.

“Depo-Provera has a well-established efficacy and safety profile and has been a treatment option for millions of patients.”

NHS Inform, in line with the European Medicines Agency, updated side effect warnings to say that long-term use of medroxyprogesterone for three years or longer may increase the risk of developing a meningioma, but it’s very rare.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also stressed that patient safety is its top priority.

The regulator said product information was updated following studies that identified a risk of meningioma associated with medroxyprogesterone acetate, the active ingredient in Depo-Provera, and was updated again in early 2025 with additional advice and risk-management measures.

The MHRA said that for the majority of people, the benefits of Depo-Provera continue to outweigh the risks, but anyone with concerns should speak to their GP, pharmacist or contraceptive provider.

For Tammy and Trish, however, questions remain.

“I just don’t want anyone else to go through this,” said Trish.

Tammy added: “I want every woman who’s been affected, who’s been diagnosed, who has a suspicion, to have their voice heard.”