Losing A Breast

Losing a breast is a devastating for any woman. To heal themselves, many breast cancer survivors choose to get breast implants. Over the years, implants have emerged as an integral part of recovery after losing a breast to breast cancer. Along with chemotherapy or radiation, implants are often presented to women as part of the mastectomy “treatment package.”

 
 

“The doctor says you have breast cancer. You need a mastectomy, you need radiation, you need breast implants. It’s like part of the whole treatment. In reality, I didn’t need the breast implants to get over the cancer. But they made it seem like it was all part of the recovery. It was a terrible thing.”
-Anne Stansell, Featured Breast Cancer Survivor
 
 
 
 
But, many breast cancer survivors get the implants without knowing all the risks. In fact, the risks are not fully known because manufacturers have not extensively studied the effect of implants on breast cancer patients. ABSOLUTELY SAFE character Anne Stansell is one of these women. Her doctors told her she needed breast implants after her mastectomy. But five years later she was sick again – and not with cancer. Anne, like other breast cancer survivors in her support group, believes that her silicone implants made her sick.
 

Anne is not alone. A 2006 report released by National Research Center for Women & Families called Decisions in the Dark: The FDA, Breast Cancer Survivors, and Silicone Implants, states that the complication and rupture rates for breast implants are substantially higher in reconstructive surgery patients than in patients who receive implants for augmentation purposes. The report says that industry funded research reveals that reconstruction patients experience 2 to 3 times of complications and additional surgeries as augmentation patients.

In addition, the report suggests that breast implants may inhibit accurate mammograms and future breast cancer treatment options.

For decades, plastic surgeons and implant manufacturers have lobbied the FDA for the right of breast cancer patients to have access to breast implants; however, they have neglected to thoroughly study the health implications implants may have on this population. If implant manufacturers are committed to this population’s well being, then why haven’t they fully included cancer patients in long-term safety studies?

Breast cancer patients, like all women with implants, deserve the right to make an informed choice—to fully know and understand the risks.

Breast cancer organizations have differing opinions on breast implants. Some advocate for implants and others do not. Please visit these organizations to learn more:

Breast Cancer Action

National Breast Cancer Foundation

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization

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