Guest guest Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 {I wrote this in 1998 and had it published in the San Diego Business Journal} The Silicone Smokescreen The purpose of law is to prevent the strong from always having their way. Ovid, 43 BC -- 18 AD Ovid must be spinning in his grave! For 35 years, silicone manufacturers have been selling harmful breast implants -- products the FDA never approved. Following in the footsteps of their cousins --The Tobacco Barons -- the mighty Dows and other silicone manufacturers have run roughshod over the legal system. They followed the winning formula: Bury all incriminating evidence. Deny its existence. Make the victims prove your product is not safe. Even then, deny it. Put profit over human life. Deny it. Create an incestuous relationship with the AMA and the FDA. Deny it. Hire expensive PR firms to sway public opinion. Purchase favorable media with mega-advertising dollars. Deny it. Sell sex. Above all, create a " smokescreen " to confuse and confound the issue and protect your bottom line. Repeatedly claim that " there is no scientific proof that smoking (or silicone) Œcauses¹ disease.² It¹s easy. Human beings make lousy lab rats. Tobacco has honed this formula beautifully for well over 50 profit-filled years. We¹ve really ³come a long way, baby.² However, it wasn¹t until late 1996 (Science, 10/18/96) after thousands of studies and tens of millions of smoking-related deaths, that medical science was able to identify the genetic " missing link " between smoking and lung cancer. Finally, proof. By then was there any doubt? Already, a half a million Americans were dying annually from smoking related diseases. ³Tobacco science² had proven what everyone has known for decades. Since the 60¹s, the silicone manufacturers, claiming no culpability, out of court and out of the public eye, settled thousands of cases of implant problems with ³gag² orders which kept their " dirty little secrets " hidden. When one brave woman, nn Hopkins refused to be silenced and took her case to jury, former San Diegan Dan Bolton dropped a bombshell on the jury and produced vast amounts of damning evidence from Dow¹s own files. Included were concealed studies showing how for years, Dow Corning knew, denied and hid the serious dangers. Dow lost all appeals, and the Supreme Court eventually upheld the verdict of fraud. One of the studies that surfaced was the Dow sponsored, 1975 ACTA from Sweden which indicated that silicone crosses the placental barrier. As far reaching as this fact is, to date, physicians nationwide continue to assure implanted women that it is perfectly safe to carry and nurse babies. Not one OB/GYN can tell me on what scientific studies these assurances are based. None exists. Retired professor of Health Education, Henrietta Farber is appalled at the lack of information given women today as to the true risks of implants. A survivor of double mastectomies and a series of disastrous implant surgeries, she is shocked that Dr. Anne Wallace, UCSD Plastic Surgeon, still quotes small, manufacturer financed studies as ³proof² of implant safety. ³Similar studies, could not have shown any correlation between smoking and cancer. Dr. Wallace ignores newer studies indicating that 34% of post mastectomy patients required additional surgery within the first five years after implantation.² Dr. Wallace, whose recent lecture aired on UCSD-TV, described saline implants as ³bags of water,² never mentioning the fungus, mold and bacterial infections known to flourish in these degradable silicone envelopes. Mrs. Farber added, ³Over 33,000 women have filed complaints of serious complications to the FDA about their saline implants. People believe incorrectly that they have been approved by the FDA for safety.² However, on KNSD-TV, ³Dirty Doctor² Dean Edell, describes saline implants as ³perfectly safe, perfectly fine.² He has also been heard proclaiming that he hopes that ³implanted women never get a penny² from the makers of their defective products. Oh yes, the pennies. Dow spent $191 million defending itself in the three years prior to declaring bankruptcy in 1992 and crashing the huge class action suit. Meanwhile, while safely in ³bankruptcy protection² Dow Corning enjoyed profits of $61 million in 1996, while Papa Dow Chemical earned $452 million in the first quarter of 1997. Concurrently, here in San Diego County, there are estimated hundreds of women with no funds to have their disintegrating and ruptured implants removed. Many are too ill with multiple autoimmune diseases to care for themselves and their families. Brilliant as they were, The Dows made some early serious calculation errors as to ³cost benefit.² Using strategy modeled after the exploding Pinto gas tanks, as the numbers of ruptured implants surfaced, they hid the details and continued to claim falsified rupture figures of only 1-5%. Well-respected UCSD Radiologist, Dr. Middleton, presented details of research done on 1,200 women to the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in November, 1995. He explained that in these studies on women implanted between 10 and 12 years, " The rupture rate for non-polyurethane-coated implants was 31%, compared to 91% for polyurethane-coated implants. " The latter were taken off the market in 1991 after it was discovered that the polyurethane breaks down to TDA, a known carcinogen. I¹ve heard of no women, however, who received a ³recall notice.² The infamous class action suits have been brilliant stalling devices to keep the money where the manufacturers want it. Mentor Corporation of Santa Barbara, threatening bankruptcy, forced all recipients to settle with a ³take it or leave it² offer. Their 1996 earnings were $23.8 million. One of their customers, a 43 year old San Diegan woman who had had 3 sets of failed implants, Mentor¹s being one, has now reluctantly been forced into receiving public assistance. She has had 12 implant related surgeries, has accumulated over $120,000 in medical bills, and lives in constant pain. Her total settlement from Mentor -- $379.90. ³It is unbelievable to me, that women dying, and those who will suffer agonizing pain for the remainder of their lives are barred from seeking legal recourse through our court system.² For this reason, explains Joan Huffman, Executive Director of La Jolla based Research Update, they have sponsored Assembly Bill 1609, which recently received an affirmative vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee. ³Women harmed by breast implants deserve access to the court system.² ³Silicone Science² like ³Tobacco Science² can rage in controversy for decades. And just like tobacco, the evidence is the victims and their failed health. They know now what science may not figure out (or admit to) for years. With insurers such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield denying benefits to ³women with a history of implants,² this is a public health catastrophe in the making. And the tax payer, as always, will have to pick up the tab. May Ovid rest in peace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.BreastImplantAwareness.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 This is great. Thank you, you could make money as a writer. I have just found a fax that Tom Talcott sent to me. He tied to call me, but our phone # is unlisted, he had the operater call me, what an Angel. We talked later when I called him. He told me that he would kick Dr. Brautbar's butt all over the United States for hurting me, he liked Dr. Brautbar very much. We think that someone got to him too and that is why he hurt me. I wish that he could be here today...I mean Tom, he would help us. Love you....Me ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~````````````````````` The Silicone Smokescreen {I wrote this in 1998 and had it published in the San Diego Business Journal} The Silicone Smokescreen The purpose of law is to prevent the strong from always having their way. Ovid, 43 BC -- 18 AD Ovid must be spinning in his grave! For 35 years, silicone manufacturers have been selling harmful breast implants -- products the FDA never approved. Following in the footsteps of their cousins --The Tobacco Barons -- the mighty Dows and other silicone manufacturers have run roughshod over the legal system. They followed the winning formula: Bury all incriminating evidence. Deny its existence. Make the victims prove your product is not safe. Even then, deny it. Put profit over human life. Deny it. Create an incestuous relationship with the AMA and the FDA. Deny it. Hire expensive PR firms to sway public opinion. Purchase favorable media with mega-advertising dollars. Deny it. Sell sex. Above all, create a " smokescreen " to confuse and confound the issue and protect your bottom line. Repeatedly claim that " there is no scientific proof that smoking (or silicone) Ocauses¹ disease.² It¹s easy. Human beings make lousy lab rats. Tobacco has honed this formula beautifully for well over 50 profit-filled years. We¹ve really ³come a long way, baby.² However, it wasn¹t until late 1996 (Science, 10/18/96) after thousands of studies and tens of millions of smoking-related deaths, that medical science was able to identify the genetic " missing link " between smoking and lung cancer. Finally, proof. By then was there any doubt? Already, a half a million Americans were dying annually from smoking related diseases. ³Tobacco science² had proven what everyone has known for decades. Since the 60¹s, the silicone manufacturers, claiming no culpability, out of court and out of the public eye, settled thousands of cases of implant problems with ³gag² orders which kept their " dirty little secrets " hidden. When one brave woman, nn Hopkins refused to be silenced and took her case to jury, former San Diegan Dan Bolton dropped a bombshell on the jury and produced vast amounts of damning evidence from Dow¹s own files. Included were concealed studies showing how for years, Dow Corning knew, denied and hid the serious dangers. Dow lost all appeals, and the Supreme Court eventually upheld the verdict of fraud. One of the studies that surfaced was the Dow sponsored, 1975 ACTA from Sweden which indicated that silicone crosses the placental barrier. As far reaching as this fact is, to date, physicians nationwide continue to assure implanted women that it is perfectly safe to carry and nurse babies. Not one OB/GYN can tell me on what scientific studies these assurances are based. None exists. Retired professor of Health Education, Henrietta Farber is appalled at the lack of information given women today as to the true risks of implants. A survivor of double mastectomies and a series of disastrous implant surgeries, she is shocked that Dr. Anne Wallace, UCSD Plastic Surgeon, still quotes small, manufacturer financed studies as ³proof² of implant safety. ³Similar studies, could not have shown any correlation between smoking and cancer. Dr. Wallace ignores newer studies indicating that 34% of post mastectomy patients required additional surgery within the first five years after implantation.² Dr. Wallace, whose recent lecture aired on UCSD-TV, described saline implants as ³bags of water,² never mentioning the fungus, mold and bacterial infections known to flourish in these degradable silicone envelopes. Mrs. Farber added, ³Over 33,000 women have filed complaints of serious complications to the FDA about their saline implants. People believe incorrectly that they have been approved by the FDA for safety.² However, on KNSD-TV, ³Dirty Doctor² Dean Edell, describes saline implants as ³perfectly safe, perfectly fine.² He has also been heard proclaiming that he hopes that ³implanted women never get a penny² from the makers of their defective products. Oh yes, the pennies. Dow spent $191 million defending itself in the three years prior to declaring bankruptcy in 1992 and crashing the huge class action suit. Meanwhile, while safely in ³bankruptcy protection² Dow Corning enjoyed profits of $61 million in 1996, while Papa Dow Chemical earned $452 million in the first quarter of 1997. Concurrently, here in San Diego County, there are estimated hundreds of women with no funds to have their disintegrating and ruptured implants removed. Many are too ill with multiple autoimmune diseases to care for themselves and their families. Brilliant as they were, The Dows made some early serious calculation errors as to ³cost benefit.² Using strategy modeled after the exploding Pinto gas tanks, as the numbers of ruptured implants surfaced, they hid the details and continued to claim falsified rupture figures of only 1-5%. Well-respected UCSD Radiologist, Dr. Middleton, presented details of research done on 1,200 women to the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in November, 1995. He explained that in these studies on women implanted between 10 and 12 years, " The rupture rate for non-polyurethane-coated implants was 31%, compared to 91% for polyurethane-coated implants. " The latter were taken off the market in 1991 after it was discovered that the polyurethane breaks down to TDA, a known carcinogen. I¹ve heard of no women, however, who received a ³recall notice.² The infamous class action suits have been brilliant stalling devices to keep the money where the manufacturers want it. Mentor Corporation of Santa Barbara, threatening bankruptcy, forced all recipients to settle with a ³take it or leave it² offer. Their 1996 earnings were $23.8 million. One of their customers, a 43 year old San Diegan woman who had had 3 sets of failed implants, Mentor¹s being one, has now reluctantly been forced into receiving public assistance. She has had 12 implant related surgeries, has accumulated over $120,000 in medical bills, and lives in constant pain. Her total settlement from Mentor -- $379.90. ³It is unbelievable to me, that women dying, and those who will suffer agonizing pain for the remainder of their lives are barred from seeking legal recourse through our court system.² For this reason, explains Joan Huffman, Executive Director of La Jolla based Research Update, they have sponsored Assembly Bill 1609, which recently received an affirmative vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee. ³Women harmed by breast implants deserve access to the court system.² ³Silicone Science² like ³Tobacco Science² can rage in controversy for decades. And just like tobacco, the evidence is the victims and their failed health. They know now what science may not figure out (or admit to) for years. With insurers such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield denying benefits to ³women with a history of implants,² this is a public health catastrophe in the making. And the tax payer, as always, will have to pick up the tab. May Ovid rest in peace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.BreastImplantAwareness.org Opinions expressed are NOT meant to take the place of advice given by licensed health care professionals. Consult your physician or licensed health care professional before commencing any medical treatment. " Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you. Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about how to live a happy life and how to work for a better world. " - Linus ing, two-time Nobel Prize Winner (1954, Chemistry; 1963, Peace) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Thanks for the sweet words ... I am working on some other articles etc. at the moment ... One of our sweet sisters ... Gail H wrote Larry King after the tobacco discusssion last nite ... made me think of this piece. I got enormous exposure and feedback from getting it published ... My fond wish is to get more and more and more of our sisters writing or telling their stories and getting it to the various medium ... we have some great exposure happening right now ... thank Heavens ... and can always use more. Look at my next post about what the FDA is already saying about the Mentor data ...I think this is great news for us ... actually, the best I've heard in a while. Love to all, Ilena www.BreastImplantAwareness.org --- In , " Lea " <devans@c...> wrote: > This is great. Thank you, you could make money as a writer. I have just > found a fax that Tom Talcott sent to me. He tied to call me, but our phone # > is unlisted, he had the operater call me, what an Angel. We talked later > when I called him. He told me that he would kick Dr. Brautbar's butt all > over the United States for hurting me, he liked Dr. Brautbar very much. We > think that someone got to him too and that is why he hurt me. I wish that he > could be here today...I mean Tom, he would help us. > > Love you....Me > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~````````````````````` > The Silicone Smokescreen > > > > > {I wrote this in 1998 and had it published in the San Diego Business > Journal} > > The Silicone Smokescreen > > The purpose of law > is to prevent the strong from > always having their way. > > Ovid, 43 BC -- 18 AD > Ovid must be spinning in his grave! > > For 35 years, silicone manufacturers have been selling harmful breast > implants -- products the FDA never approved. > > Following in the footsteps of their cousins --The Tobacco Barons - - > the > mighty Dows and other silicone manufacturers have run roughshod over > the > legal system. They followed the winning formula: Bury all > incriminating > evidence. Deny its existence. Make the victims prove your product is > not > safe. Even then, deny it. Put profit over human life. Deny it. > Create an > incestuous relationship with the AMA and the FDA. Deny it. Hire > expensive > PR firms to sway public opinion. Purchase favorable media with > mega-advertising dollars. Deny it. Sell sex. > > Above all, create a " smokescreen " to confuse and confound the issue > and > protect your bottom line. Repeatedly claim that " there is no > scientific > proof that smoking (or silicone) Ocauses¹ disease.² > > It¹s easy. Human beings make lousy lab rats. Tobacco has honed this > formula beautifully for well over 50 profit-filled years. We¹ve > really > ³come a long way, baby.² > > However, it wasn¹t until late 1996 (Science, 10/18/96) after > thousands of > studies and tens of millions of smoking-related deaths, that medical > science was able to identify the genetic " missing link " between > smoking > and lung cancer. Finally, proof. By then was there any doubt? > Already, a > half a million Americans were dying annually from smoking related > diseases. ³Tobacco science² had proven what everyone has known for > decades. > > Since the 60¹s, the silicone manufacturers, claiming no culpability, > out > of court and out of the public eye, settled thousands of cases of > implant > problems with ³gag² orders which kept their " dirty little secrets " > hidden. > When one brave woman, nn Hopkins refused to be silenced and > took her > case to jury, former San Diegan Dan Bolton dropped a bombshell on > the jury > and produced vast amounts of damning evidence from Dow¹s own files. > Included were concealed studies showing how for years, Dow Corning > knew, > denied and hid the serious dangers. Dow lost all appeals, and the > Supreme > Court eventually upheld the verdict of fraud. > > One of the studies that surfaced was the Dow sponsored, 1975 ACTA > from > Sweden which indicated that silicone crosses the placental barrier. > As far > reaching as this fact is, to date, physicians nationwide continue to > assure implanted women that it is perfectly safe to carry and nurse > babies. Not one OB/GYN can tell me on what scientific studies these > assurances are based. None exists. > > Retired professor of Health Education, Henrietta Farber is appalled > at the > lack of information given women today as to the true risks of > implants. A > survivor of double mastectomies and a series of disastrous implant > surgeries, she is shocked that Dr. Anne Wallace, UCSD Plastic > Surgeon, > still quotes small, manufacturer financed studies as ³proof² of > implant > safety. ³Similar studies, could not have shown any correlation > between > smoking and cancer. Dr. Wallace ignores newer studies indicating > that 34% > of post mastectomy patients required additional surgery within the > first > five years after implantation.² Dr. Wallace, whose recent lecture > aired on > UCSD-TV, described saline implants as ³bags of water,² never > mentioning > the fungus, mold and bacterial infections known to flourish in these > degradable silicone envelopes. Mrs. Farber added, ³Over 33,000 women > have > filed complaints of serious complications to the FDA about their > saline > implants. People believe incorrectly that they have been approved by > the > FDA for safety.² > > However, on KNSD-TV, ³Dirty Doctor² Dean Edell, describes saline > implants as ³perfectly safe, perfectly fine.² He has also been heard > proclaiming that he hopes that ³implanted women never get a penny² > from > the makers of their defective products. Oh yes, the pennies. > > Dow spent $191 million defending itself in the three years prior to > declaring bankruptcy in 1992 and crashing the huge class action suit. > Meanwhile, while safely in ³bankruptcy protection² Dow Corning > enjoyed > profits of $61 million in 1996, while Papa Dow Chemical earned $452 > million in the first quarter of 1997. > > Concurrently, here in San Diego County, there are estimated hundreds > of > women with no funds to have their disintegrating and ruptured > implants > removed. Many are too ill with multiple autoimmune diseases to care > for > themselves and their families. > > Brilliant as they were, The Dows made some early serious calculation > errors as to ³cost benefit.² Using strategy modeled after the > exploding > Pinto gas tanks, as the numbers of ruptured implants surfaced, they > hid > the details and continued to claim falsified rupture figures of only > 1-5%. > > Well-respected UCSD Radiologist, Dr. Middleton, presented > details > of research done on 1,200 women to the Annual Meeting of the > Radiological > Society of North America in November, 1995. He explained that in > these > studies on women implanted between 10 and 12 years, " The rupture > rate for > non-polyurethane-coated implants was 31%, compared to 91% for > polyurethane-coated implants. " The latter were taken off the market > in > 1991 after it was discovered that the polyurethane breaks down to > TDA, a > known carcinogen. I¹ve heard of no women, however, who received a > ³recall > notice.² > > The infamous class action suits have been brilliant stalling devices > to > keep the money where the manufacturers want it. Mentor Corporation of > Santa Barbara, threatening bankruptcy, forced all recipients to > settle > with a ³take it or leave it² offer. Their 1996 earnings were $23.8 > million. > > One of their customers, a 43 year old San Diegan woman who had had 3 > sets > of failed implants, Mentor¹s being one, has now reluctantly been > forced > into receiving public assistance. She has had 12 implant related > surgeries, has accumulated over $120,000 in medical bills, and lives > in > constant pain. Her total settlement from Mentor -- $379.90. > > ³It is unbelievable to me, that women dying, and those who will > suffer > agonizing pain for the remainder of their lives are barred from > seeking > legal recourse through our court system.² For this reason, explains > Joan > Huffman, Executive Director of La Jolla based Research Update, they > have > sponsored Assembly Bill 1609, which recently received an affirmative > vote > from the Senate Judiciary Committee. ³Women harmed by breast implants > deserve access to the court system.² > > ³Silicone Science² like ³Tobacco Science² can rage in controversy for > decades. And just like tobacco, the evidence is the victims and their > failed health. They know now what science may not figure out (or > admit to) > for years. With insurers such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield denying > benefits > to ³women with a history of implants,² this is a public health > catastrophe > in the making. And the tax payer, as always, will have to pick up > the tab. > > May Ovid rest in peace. > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > www.BreastImplantAwareness.org > > > > > > > Opinions expressed are NOT meant to take the place of advice given by > licensed health care professionals. Consult your physician or licensed > health care professional before commencing any medical treatment. > > " Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you. > Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about how to live a > happy life and how to work for a better world. " - Linus ing, two-time > Nobel Prize Winner (1954, Chemistry; 1963, Peace) > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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