Filed under: Women's Health, Disease Prevention, Cancer
According to a recent AOL News article, health officials are researching a possible connection between breast implants and a rare form of cancer. Anaplastic large cell lymphoma has been found in at least 60 women with implants, leading to concerns that the two could be related. This cancer "attacks lymph nodes and skin and has been reported in the scar tissue which grows around an implant." It is of such concern that the FDA is having doctors report any cases of this unique disease that comes across their tables.
While any cancer-causing agent is something to worry about, this does not seem to be reason to run to your doctor and have your set removed. Researchers from the agency say "a definitive study would need to collect data on hundreds of thousands of women for more than 10 years. Even then, causality may not be conclusively established." This, however, is not the first time the FDA has questioned the safety of implants. In 1992, silicone implants were removed from the market due to the lack of data on their effectiveness. However, they were allowed back in 2006 after they could not conclusively connect them with any sort of disease. This new cancer information can only make one wonder just how correct they were in allowing these implants to be used again. One woman's family found out the hard way just how serious this surgery can be.
German reality and porn star Carolin "Sexy Cora" Berger (above) lost her life at the tender age of 23 after breast enhancement number six. Yes, six. In a move to take her already ample breasts up another cup size, the young woman suffered a cardiac arrest during surgery which unfortunately went unnoticed by doctors. She was eventually placed into a coma and died nine days later. Though this newly discovered cancer was not to blame for Carolin's death, it does beg the question - how much is too much? With an estimated five to ten million women with breast implants, how many of them have complications we were never made aware of? Is a larger cup size worth chemotherapy? Death?
We here at Black Voices are neither advocating or discouraging the usage of silicone or saline implants in breast enhancement. What little advice we can give is, talk to your doctor and do your research. It is important to make sure when making a decision of this magnitude that you have all the facts you can possibly have. Just as your mom always told you, better safe than sorry.
Ladies, does this new possible cancer link make you any more concerned about the idea of implants, or is this just another unfounded scare?