healing ways B TOXIC LEGACY by Linda Sechrist reast Implant Warriors Unite
implant surgery in 2005. “I never anticipat- ed an avalanche of women’s stories about the symptoms that I endured before having my explant surgery in 2015.” Aſt er hearing from other women,
Daruda felt affi rmed in her suspicions that implants had caused her fatigue, brain fog, memory loss, headaches, joint and muscle pain, hair loss, recurring infections, swol- len lymph nodes, rashes, irritable bowel syndrome and problems with thyroid and adrenal glands. “I believe that various doc- tors pigeonholed my symptoms into the category of autoimmune disorders because few general practitioners are aware of BII.” Diana Hoppe, M.D., a board-certifi ed
T
he U.S. Surgeon General’s warning on cigarettes hasn’t prevented individuals from smoking, nor has the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) list of risks and complications associated with breast implants kept women from undergoing vol- untary breast augmentation. Since 1997, the number of saline- and silicone-fi lled breast implant surgeries has tripled. According to the National Center for Health Research (NCHR), more than 400,000 women and teenagers undergo breast implant surgeries every year, with 75 percent for augmentation of healthy breasts and 25 percent for recon- struction aſt er mastectomies. T e marked increase in surgeries
implanting these Class III “high risk” medical devices includes many women that undergo procedures to replace old implants that have broken or caused other problems. An estimated 40,000 U.S. women a year have the surgery to remove the implants entirely. T ese “explants” stem from a variety of issues, from rup- ture or delayed wound healing to broken implants that have caused breast pain, capsule contracture, spontaneous defl a- tion, breast lesion, infection, wrinkling/ scalloping and necrosis. Another reason for removal is the
growing concern about the reported incidence of breast implant-associated ana- plastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a treatable T-cell lymphoma, and breast
28 Greater Oklahoma/OKC Edition
implant illness (BII) associated with both silicone and saline implants. T e FDA fi rst sounded the alarm
about the rare lymphoma in 2011, linking it to implants with textured, Velcro-like outer shells. In February, the federal agency issued a letter to healthcare providers seeking to increase awareness “about an association between all breast implants, regardless of fi lling or texture,” and BIA- ALCL. On the issue of BII and other prob- lems reported by women with implants, the FDA has remained largely silent, suggesting that “studies would need to be larger and longer than these conducted so far.” However, the number of women
with implants reporting health problems has prompted the FDA to demand that two manufacturers of the devices conduct proper long-term health studies. T e agency sent out letters in March warning of defi ciencies in FDA-required research and the possibility that their products could be taken off the market. T e move is considered to be a victory
for patient activism.
Facebook.com/groups/ HealingBreastImplantIllness has become a sanctuary for more than 68,000 women that report a range of symptoms associated with BII. Nicole Daruda, of Vancouver Island, Canada, says she created the group to support women that visited her website,
HealingBreastImplantIllness.com, where she told her personal BII story that began with
NaturalAwakeningsOKC.com
OB/GYN in Encinitas, California, never heard of BII until earlier this year. “Doctors rely on published, evidence-based study results, and while there are none linking con- nective tissue disorders and breast implants, I suspect that the outcomes of studies con- ducted by breast implant manufacturers are equally as suspicious as the outcomes of stud- ies done by the manufacturers of cigarettes.” One longtime BII combatant says,
“My body mounted an all-out war, in the form of a foreign body immune response.” She learned about BII from
Tinyurl.com/ BreastImplantIllness, but is unable to aff ord the explant surgery that would remove the apparently toxic invaders. NCHR reports that at the time of
explant surgery, approximately three out of fi ve women have had implants and their unhealthy symptoms for 10 years or more. Aſt er explant surgery, 89 percent of the women report improvement. However, explant surgery is just the fi rst step. Daruda used chelation and the proto-
cols of Gerson T erapy, a natural treatment that activates the body’s ability to heal itself through an organic, plant-based diet, raw juices, coff ee enemas and supplements. “It took me four years to recuperate,” she says. “It didn’t take that long to know the lesson I wanted to share with other women: Self-love and self-worth are more important than society’s false concepts of beauty. T e essence of who we are is not tied to any body part.”
Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings. Connect at
ItsAllAboutWe.com.
Rawpixel.com/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
