LaTonya Shuler, at her Indianapolis home on July 12, 2023, is a plaintiff in a complaint against companies that produce hair straighteners for Black women. - John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS
LaTonya Shuler, 50, of Indianapolis, had planned to have children. But at age 32, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. After six weeks of radiation and a hysterectomy for Shuler, a home health aide worker, her plans were dashed. Now in remission, Shuler checks in with her physician once a year to make sure that the cancer that took away her ability to bear children doesn’t return. It wasn’t until Shuler’s sister mentioned that perms were bad — the same perms that Shuler had been “dibbling and dabbling” with since junior high — that she learned what may have caused her cancer. “At the time, I...
