╨╧рб▒с>■  @B■   ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ье┴Y ┐|0bjbjєWєW LС=С=|,      ]ТТТТТТТжжжжж ▓Lж═ ╢Т Ф Ф Ф Ф Ф Ф $Г Їw ъ╕ Т╕ xТТxxxТТТ жжТТТТТ xxТ ТТТ ■└°vCл/─жж^Т The Truth About Breast Implants - An Interview with Ilena Rosenthal by Sherrill Sellman Ilena Rosenthal is an incredibly courageous and passionate woman who has been dedicated to raising awareness to the true and serious risks of breast implants and other silicone products. She is a true inspiration of the power of the Feminine to create healing and change in the world. And it has not been easy. What began as a small research project for a friend with tumors and cysts around her 20 year old saline implants in August, 1995, has become an amazing adventure for Ilena beyond anything she could have imagined. Speaking out on the true dangers of a product so desirable and yet so potentially harmful, sharing the too real stories of women who made the fateful decision to have breast implants, almost immediately made her the target of an unrelenting and incredibly vicious 6 year Defamation Campaign which continues to date. In November, 1995, she created the only Usenet Newsgroup, alt.support.breast-implant, to provide a place for support and a way for women and their families to connect. She obviously got in the way of the Silicone and Plastic Surgery Industries and their Public Relations Machine well greased by silicone dollars. Nothing was too personal nor too untrue for her Enemies to post or email about her. To learn more of her personal encounter with the forces who wanted to silent her warnings and her message, visit her website at http://www.humanticsfoundation.com SS: What is your background and what you made become involved in exposing the dangers of breast implants. IR: Over 30 years ago I received my BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado. During college, I did volunteer counseling in the very early days of Planned Parenthood. I have always been active in women's issues, and was honored to have been a part of a team to form the first Woman's Crisis Center in a small mountain town in No. California 25 years ago. After hearing story after devastating story from women harmed by breast implants, in September, 1995 I began to investigate the issue for a beautiful and confused friend. As U2 says, "I got stuck in a moment" and now, 7 years later, I am more committed to warning women internationally about the very real dangers, which include vast disinformation campaigns by the silicone manufacturers and the wealthy plastic surgeons groups. SS: What are the proven dangers of breast implants? IR: Among other problems: 1. Implants can rupture during mammography. 2. Implants make routine self exams and mammography more difficult. More views are necessary, meaning additional radiation each time. 3. Implant rupture can go undetected for years and silicone is known to migrate through the lymph system and has been found in the brains, spinal fluid, ovaries, livers, and other organs of implanted women. 4. Implants are not lifetime devices, and may need to be replaced (even without systemic problems) more than once a decade. 5. At any time infections are possible, including fungal and antibiotic resistant bacterial infestations. 6. Loss of breast sensation, especially around the nipple area is reported, as well as hyper-sensitivity to touch. 7. Capsular contracture can be very uncomfortable, to the point of severe pain and deformation. 8. Many women have experienced severe necrosis and other forms of breast tissue loss. 9. Many women have experienced serious autoimmune diseases post implantation including: rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, Sjogrens Syndrome (severe dry mouth, eyes, etc.), and lupus. Those women with pre-existing compromised immune systems are now warned to avoid implants. 10. Disproportional numbers of implanted women have reported neurological and cognitive complications, as well as endocrine disruption including hysterectomies, miscarriage. 11. Children born of implanted women have experienced the same autoimmune conditions and have been seriously inadequately studied. 12. Breast implants often negatively affect the ability to produce milk for breast-feeding. 13. Health insurance carriers are routinely denying coverage for implanted (and explanted) women. SS: Are all implants dangerous? For instance, what about saline implants? IR: We are all like snowflakes, no two of us alike. An implant is aforeign invader and that alone can create problems for some. Some peoplecan die from peanuts, or strawberries. Breast implants contain many toxic ingredients such as platinum and silica and organic solvents that can cause reactions in various women. Unfortunately, the saline implant has a whole series of complications, such as fungal infections and a very, very high rupture rate requiring additional surgeries. Glamour Magazine did a very good expose on them, which can be found at: http://www.humanticsfoundation.com/glamour-saline.html Further, the clinical studies done by Mentor and McGhan are listed on the FDA webpage with information as to the complications in the first few years. This can be found at: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/ It was only in May, 2000 that any implant got FDA approval. At that time, the FDA determined that saline implants were "safe enough" despite very high complication rates. SS: Why are breast implants so popular now? How did the industry manage to re-establish credibility and safety? IR: Advertising pays! So do enormous Public Relations budgets. The breast implant manufacturers and Plastic Surgeons groups have inundated the news media with any "positive" slanted story and ignore the ones exposing the harmful effects. The manufacturers are funders of the "junk science" campaign which calls any findings that will hurt their bottom line "junk" and mis-label corporate funded "science" as sound. For example, when the National Cancer Institute found a correlation between breast implants and deaths from respiratory and brain cancers, the media broadcast skewed findings such as "most cancers not connected" and other misleading headlines. When extraordinarily high rupture rates were reported by the FDA two years ago, the media again was virtually silent. The same with information of high suicide rates and links for women with ruptured implants and fibromyalgia. Also, the plastic surgeons and manufacturers fund websites that pretend to be "support groups" and which are staffed by those paid to help sell more implants. They censor any critics and offer very one-sided advice. One of these even touts the very dangerous "belly button" method of implantation, which the FDA specifically warns against. Never mentioned on these sites are that ruptured saline implants can not be removed by the belly button, and I strongly believe the women getting implants via this method thinking they will forever be "scarless" are being duped. The bottom line is no one in the world wants to believe that breast implants can and do ruin as many lives as they do. Unfortunately, it is a multi-billion dollar a year business, while concurrently, billions are still unpaid to the victims of faulty implants. All of this makes the issue "controversial" with enormous PR to support the sides with the money. Most of the women activists in this issue are ill themselves, many have lost not only their breast implants, but their own breast tissue, their health, their jobs, their insurance, and often their families. It's their word against some of the largest and most powerful companies in the world, like Papa Dow Chemical, Baby Dow Corning, and Bristol Myers Squibb. SS: What do you recommend to women who have implants? How can they protect their health? What do they need to know? What are the signs of silicone poisoning or allergic reactions? IR: No one wants to relieve that her breast implants could be harming her health. No one. Every woman has a large emotional, physical and financial investment in them. Early warning signs are numbness in the extremities, shooting pains and severe headaches. Dry eyes are also often early signals. Painful joints and swelling are common. Unfortunately, most physicians will deny any connection of implants and these symptoms, yet alone lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis and other disproportionately seen autoimmune illnesses. Ruptures with silicone gel implants can go undetected for years, although saline filled silicone implants tend to go flat fairly soon when leaking. Just like the decision to become implanted is one of the biggest women make in their lives, so is the decision to explant permanently. Some women (Jenny Jones, Sally Kirkland among them) had 5 separate sets of implants before finally removing them without replacement. I do advise women to speak with others who have long-term experiences with implants. I am proud that there are thousands of women from all over the world connected via my support group founded 7 years ago. There are so many who generously share their experiences with new members. It is also very important to find plastic surgeons who know how to properly and safely remove implants, if they choose this route. Most of all, women must be honest and gentle with themselves. Trust their instincts. Make their decisions out of love for themselves, not just fear. SS: Is there a greater danger to teenagers and young women if they get implants? The FDA finally added some restrictions for women under 18 years of age. Because most women believe that implants are a lifetime product, this means a constant assault on a woman's immune system by having a foreign body inside of her for several decades. Even without systemic problems, this would mean years of re-operations, usually with no insurance, each time with a chance for an opportunistic infection to occur. I believe this is a very dangerous decision for a young woman to make. SS: Are there any safe, effective breast augmentation techniques or supplements? IR: I have heard of good results with some supplements, although they appear to be somewhat temporary. One very good friend of mine had liposuction and the fat from that implanted into her breasts. The results were good for a couple of months. Then the fat drifted away and she looked the same before surgery (although her derriere remained smaller). While it is true that not every woman will experience serious problems, the risks are enormous. I recommend women learn to love themselves as they are and stay as healthy as possible. SS. How can women support your efforts? IR: Spread the word of the very real dangers to those who don't yet know. Read as much unbiased information as possible. Our website has many great links on it. http://www.BreastImplantAwareness.org Our non profit foundation, The Humantics Foundation, like many others, has had most all of its donations virtually stop after 9/11. It takes funding for websites, support groups and lists and most of it I have funded myself for the last 7 years. With approximately 5 new women a day asking for help and support, tax deductible donations in any amount will help us be able to continue this vital work. 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