Re: URGENT for both websites

[Guest guest]

Dearest :

We are so angry regarding the decisions by both Health Canada and the FDA. How can they do this knowing that breast implants have destroyed so many lives and killed so many women?

Here is an example of how duplicitous these medical people can be. A year ago, I spoke to the director of clinical biochemistry here at the UofA, because I wanted him to test me for platinum in the blood. During our conversation, he told me that silicone breast implants cause lung cancer, and that the women who have these devices drink and smoke. When someone in his position makes a comment like this you take it seriously; however, I have never smoked and I do not drink! Later, I sent him to Dr. Lykissa's site, and then I called Dr. Lykissa to see if he would work with this director and he agreed to do this for me. That same day, the director flew to Toronto and proceeded to say the contrary to everything that he had said to me! His comments were in the paper the next day, claiming that there was very little platinum in our blood stream! This man works for a teaching hospital, and he should know that he should speak to the researchers about these unsafe devices. In my opinion, he feels that any women who has these devices implanted into their bodies deserve any health problems that they get.

Where do we go from here?....with love and respect........Lea

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Fw: URGENT for both websites

The FDA has made a decision that will haunt them for years to come, tarnishing their reputation and harming many women. I thank those of you who have tried to educate women, the media, and policy makers, and I hope you will join me in continuing to have our voices heard.

Best wishes,

FDA Approves Silicone Breast Implants Despite Safety Concerns

Statement of Zuckerman, PhDPresident, National Research Center for Women & Families

November 17, 2006The FDA's decision to approve silicone gel breast implants is a triumph ofcorporate lobbying and hype over sound science and women's health.The FDA's standards for implants have reached a new low with this decision.It's important for women to know that the FDA has not determined thatsilicone gel breast implants are safe - only that they are "reasonablysafe." What does that mean? In this case, it means that if a woman livesfor 25 years after getting these implants, she will need to remove them atleast once, probably twice, and possibly more than that. If she doesn't,the implants are likely to break inside her body, and possibly leaksilicone into her breasts, lungs, and other organs.What do we know about the risks? Most women with silicone gel breastimplants experienced at least one complication within the first three yearsof getting implants, including breasts that were hard or painful, oddlyshaped, or had lost sensation, or the need for additional surgery to fiximplant problems. The additional surgery is often very expensive, andalmost never covered by health insurance. FDA scientists found that womenwith silicone breast implants for two years had a significant increase inseveral auto-immune symptoms, such as joint pain and chronic fatigue.Contrary to the hype, breast augmentation patients did not report asignificant improvement in self-esteem and tended to report a lower qualityof life after implants. Perhaps that is why scientists at the NationalCancer Institute found that women with breast implants were twice as likelyto kill themselves, compared to other plastic surgery patients.The impact of silicone implants on breast milk is unknown. The long-termhealth risks (after three years) are unknown. Given the known risks andthe unknown risks, silicone breast implants should be considered less"reasonably safe" than sky diving or other high-risk adventures. Most skydivers are not harmed, but some are harmed a little, and some die as aresult. According to the information provided by implant manufacturers tothe FDA, most women with silicone breast implants will be harmed. The harmafter can be to her health, her mental health, her appearance, or to herpocketbook, or all four.We support the FDA's decision to require 10-year studies of 40,000 women. This

clearly indicates that the FDA acknowledges the need for information about long-term risks.We will do all we can to make sure that the FDA enforces that research requirement, but we wonder

what FDA will do if the companies do not complete those studies. We support FDA's recommendation that women have breast MRIs to check forleakage every two years, but we know that most women can't afford the$2,000+ that breast MRIs cost. We support the FDA's age restriction, limiting augmentation with siliconegel breast implants to women ages 22 and over. We strongly encourageplastic surgeons to abide by those restrictions, since younger women arestill developing physically and emotionally.FDA's announcement was made at 5:30 on the Friday before Thanksgiving,in an effort to reduce media coverage. Since FDA offices are normallyclosed at 5 pm, apparently even they are ashamed of their own decision. The National Research Center for Women & Families is a nonprofit researchand education organization focused on health and safety issues. The Centeris not opposed to silicone implants but is opposed to FDA approval of anyimplanted medical devices that are not proven safe for long-term use. Formore information about breast implants and the personal stories of womenwith implants, see www.breastimplantinfo.org. For information aboutnumerous other women's health issues, see the Center's website atwww.center4research.org