Fw: Blaming Breast Implant Victims

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----- Original Message ----- From: Myrl Jeffcoat

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Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 1:09 AM

Subject: Blaming Breast Implant Victims

http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/SearchablePages/1995Newsletters/Newsletter032C.htmlBlaming Breast Implant Victimsby In March, the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes ofHealth, prompted by a high incidence of cancer among women with breastimplants, convened a symposium on "immunology of silicone." Experts at theconference concluded that exposure to silicone breast implants sets intomotion significant and long-lasting diseases. When silicone gel leaks from aruptured implant, it poisons the system, triggering immune responses thatset the body against itself.More than 20,000 women are demonstrably sick as a result of their rupturedimplants.On June 21, a 45-year-old woman, diagnosed with lupus, a connectivetissuedisease, went to her plastic surgeon after learning that her breast implantshad ruptured. A nurse by profession, she had accepted the conventionalwisdom that breast implants were safe when she had the surgery 12 years ago.For the last 10 years she has been suffering from the symptoms of siliconepoisoning, which-include dryness of the eyes, nose and mouth; headaches,numbness and tingling in the limbs; memory loss; nausea; and arthriticconditions. She is now unable to work and permanently disabled.Her plastic surgeon said, "Haven't you read the papers? They're sayingthere's no connection between your disease and leaking silicone from breastimplants." He then suggested that she should leave her ruptured implants inor get new ones.Newspapers across the country were carrying a story about a magazine articleof a study last year on breast implants. The study asserted that there wasno link between. silicone gel leaking from breast implants andconnective-tissue disease in women, Since the study was partially conductedat Harvard Medical School, it was given wide coverage in the media and wasbelieved, even by doctors.But the study is seriously flawed. It used inappropriate scientificmethodology. The researchers got their information from questionnaires; theynever actually examined the women in the study. Even if they had,statistically the number of participants was too small and the time periodwas too short. Experts have determined that the latency period for siliconedisease is about 8.5 years after implantation.Conclusions in the study about silicone poisoning were based on what areknown as "classic auto-immune diseases." Silicone poisoning is a newdisease, with auto-immune symptoms that are "atypical" but just as serious.Other factors cast further doubt on the study. Two of its authors admittedunder the threat of perjury that they were paid consultants of breastimplant manufacturers, a clear conflict of interest. At least one of themknew Dow Corning, the world's largest silicone breast implant manufacturer,had donated $5 million to one of the hospitals involved in the study.And yet doctors who support the Harvard study are implying that the women,though not exactly lying, are making things up. That mentality could lead todangerous consequences by stopping continuing, long-term scientific researchon silicone poisoning.One such doctor is Shaun Ruddy, president of the American College ofRheumatology. "I would think that if there had not been the endlesslitigation," Ruddy said, "that it is unlikely that anyone would choose tostudy this issue further."What Ruddy ignores is that without the litigation, four decades of evidencehidden by Dow Corning would never have seen the light of day.Internal documents show that Dow Corning knew back in 1954 that silicone gelcould cause internal damage to test animals—a fact the company stripped fromits report to the Food and Drug Administration. A memorandum from one oftheir own engineers complained that they could not even film demonstrationtapes of implant insertions without two of the salesmen to wipe leakedsilicone gel off the implants before demonstrating them to plastic surgeons.Dow Corning salesmen were going into public rest rooms to dry off theimplants on their way to sell them to doctors.This is a sampling of the kind of information that Dow Coming deliberatelywithheld from the public and the medical community until they were finallysued. The fact is, Dow Coming (which declared bankruptcy because of theverdicts) and other manufacturers created breast implants, aggressivelymarketed them, deceived the public and now blame women for suffering theconsequences.Reprinted from the S. F. Chronicle. is president-elect ofConsumer Attorneys of California and practices law at the Cartwright LawFirm in San Francisco.Newsletter #32–October 1995