COALITION OF SILICONE SURVIVORS

P. O. Box 129 Broomfield, CO 80038-0129

Lynda Roth - (303) 469-8242 Fax (303) 466-4084 e-mail: coss@siliconesurvivors.net

Website: http://www.siliconesurvivors.net

July 1998

Dear Silicone Survivors and Friends:

UPCOMING EVENTS: The Washington, DC meetings (Committee on the Safety of

Silicone Breast Implants: July 22-24, 1998), Cecil and Ida Green Building,

2001 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC. (PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LOCATION FOR

JULY 24th PUBLIC MEETING HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THE AUDITORIUM, NAS MAIN

BUILDING, 2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE, NW.) are coming up soon. Check last

month's newsletter for more details. I plan to be there. Many are

staying at Capitol Suites Hotel for 104/flate rate + taxes. Reservations

should be made under WIMDO 1-899-424-9165. I hope many of you have also

registered.

LEGAL: The Louisiana Spitzfaden Class Has Been Decertified. If you have

questions or do not have your own attorney, you may contact an attorney at

the Louisiana Plaintiffs' Steering Committee Office. You may write to the

Louisiana Plaintiffs' Steering Committee at 600 Carondelet Street, Suite

607, New Orleans, LA 70130, or call them at 504-524-0071 or 1-800-378-5710.

Michigan: Cheryl Wade, Daily News: The mediator in the Dow

Corning Corp. bankruptcy case said he'll be finished with his work by

month's end, whether or not the parties have worked out their differences.

Dow Corning filed for protection from its creditors under

Chapter 11 in 1995 after thousands of women sued the company, claiming its

silicone gel breast implants made them sick. Dow Corning has ceased making

implants and contends implants do not cause disease. The company has filed

its third plan to remain solvent and pay women who filed claims. That plan

has been the focus of intense discussion among the parties for months. Duke

University Professor Francis McGovern was named mediator last fall and has

had his appointment extended piecemeal, most recently until June 30. In a

telephone conference in open court Thursday, McGovern said he won't

continue past that date. "Any mediator has to be optimistic by definition,

particularly in this particular case," he said. "I am quite optimistic at

this point. We have reached substantial conceptual agreement in a number of

areas."

McGovern said the parties haven't yet approved a plan document. "But we

are, I think, quite close to being in the position where we can determine,

one way or the other, whether or not such a document is feasible." U.S.

Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Spector and U.S. District Judge Denise Hood have

held off making some key rulings in the case. Spector has said that, when

mediation is over, he will rule on whether the plan will go to women for a

vote, and whether Dow Corning has the exclusive right to file a plan.

Attorneys representing women with implants have filed an outline of a plan

of their own. Based on his talks with the parties, McGovern said "the

playing field is pretty stable right now from a legal perspective." He said

rulings from the judges now would be counterproductive to talks. He said he

gave the same progress report to Hood. Spector agreed to

delay his decisions until McGovern "gives up hope and tells me there's no

way around it." Spector set July 1 as a tentative date for McGovern to give

the results of the talks. Spector is scheduled to hold court in Flint that

day so attorneys in the case are likely to meet there. McGovern said he

wants to work "very hard on the day-to-day basis," and will report to the

court daily. He said he needs to verify "empirical data" and will make

phone calls to experts. Attorney Kenneth Eckstein, representing women with

implants, said it makes sense for the parties to work hard and try to

settle disagreements. Attorney Barbara Houser, representing Dow Corning,

said the company has given "an intense amount of effort" to the talks, and

she expected that to continue.

Update: July 1, 1998. FLINT, Michigan: A federal mediator in the

multi-billion dollar Dow Corning Corp. bankruptcy case has given the

company and women with breast implant claims six days to accept his

undisclosed proposed settlement. Intense negotiations between the former

breast implant maker and attorneys for thousands of women claiming the

implants injured them failed to produce a deal, mediator Francis McGovern

said Wednesday. "I have reached a settlement. The question is whether the

parties agree. I have submitted a take-it-or-leave-it proposal,'' McGovern

said in a conference call hearing with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur

Spector. Spector agreed to hold off on issuing his already prepared

bankruptcy plan until after the deadline set by McGovern, next Tuesday at

noon.

The woman want $3.8 billion, paid out over three years. At a 15-minute

hearing in Flint on Wednesday, negotiators for Dow Corning and its

creditors accepted the six-day deadline and agreed to keep details of

McGovern's plan confidential. McGovern's appointment as mediator in the

case expired Tuesday and he did not ask for an extension. Once a worldwide

settlement plan is approved, ballots could go out to women with silicone

breast implants. It would need approval by women representing two-thirds of

the total settlement amount to take effect. The U.S. Supreme Court last

November upheld a federal appeals court ruling that consolidated all

implant-related litigation in Michigan. The company sought the

consolidation, saying it would ensure that complaints would be handled in

an orderly way. Once the largest manufacturer of breast implants, Dow

Corning no longer makes them. But it maintains that the implants are safe

and that studies have failed to prove a link between the devices and the

alleged health ailments.

THE SUNDAY TIMES [London] 6/28/98, BRITAIN: Thousands of British women have

been offered payments of up to 33,000 in a one-off global settlement of

claims for health damage suffered by leaking silicone breast implants,

writes Lois Rogers. Even those who have not proved they have suffered any

illness or injury will receive minimum payouts of 2,200. The climbdown by

three of the leading manufacturers of the implants,3M, Baxter International

and Bristol-Myers, will influence the outcome of the government's review of

the safety of silicone breast implants due to be published soon.

Health ministers agreed to re-examine the evidence of the dangers of

leaking silicone for a third time following a ban on the use of the

implants in America and growing protests from representatives of up to

60,000 women here who have had them inserted. Silicone gel leaking from the

implant capsules is believed to cause severe allergies and paralysis as

well as chronic fatigue, loss of balance and memory problems. Despite

there being alternatives such as saline-filled capsules, more than 5,000

patients a year are still receiving the silicone implants in Britain. A

third are breast cancer patients undergoing reconstruction after surgery,

but the rest are women seeking cosmetic enhancement. Margo Cameron, who

runs Silicone Support UK, a pressure (support) group for victims, said: "A

survey of women who came to us for help found that nine out of ten had

experienced some kind of leakage."

6/27/98, Portland, The Oregonian (Ashbel S. Green): A mediator has settled

most of the approximately 100 breast implant lawsuits remaining in Oregon,

and many of the rest appear close to settlement. Still, women with implants

and implant manufacturers remain far apart on at least a few cases so more

appeals or trials are expected. The biggest Oregon verdict was $1.5

million; a judge later overturned it. In addition to paying out millions

in jury verdicts and confidential out-of-court settlements, the four main

breast implant-makers probably will pay more than $6 billion in mass

settlements.

In Oregon, an estimated 1,200 women with implants filed lawsuits or made

financial claims against implant-makers. During the last ? years, cases

have been quietly settling out of court. In the past week, a

three-day mediation session whittled down

the number of cases from 100 to less than

two dozen, and Potter said that most of the

rest have offers on the table that are likely to

be accepted (many for much less than they should

settle for, we hear). The exact number of cases remaining was unavailable

Friday because several participants could not be reached. Velure plans to

hold additional mediation sessions but so far has scheduled none. At least

a few cases, however, will go to trial or be the subject of appeal. The

most significant involves a federal lawsuit that U.S. District Judge Robert

E. Jones used to make a landmark ruling in 1996. (Remember him, his wife

has implants.) Jones, in a serious blow to plaintiffs, refused to allow

scientific testimony that silicone implants cause various diseases because

he said the evidence did not support such a claim. Bogus evidence kept out

by Jones' ruling, which has been followed by similar decisions by at least

three federal judges in other states (including Colorado, just recently),

was one of the first attempts to implement a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court ruling

ordering federal judges to keep bogus scientific evidence out of the

courtroom.

06/22/98: San Francisco (Reuters): Crooked lawyers in the nation's most

populous state may soon find it easier to lie, cheat and steal if the

California Supreme Court ignores a last-ditch request it was sent Monday.

The State Bar of California, which regulates and disciplinesall lawyers in

the state, will go out of business this Friday because of a dispute with

Calif. Gov. Pete Wilson over its main funding source, the annual license

fees it collects from the state's 128,000 practicing attorneys. With four

days to go before it was due to lay off some 500 workers, the bar Monday

asked the California Supreme Court to grant an interim order that would set

attorney licensing fees immediately and keep the bar's discipline system

operational. "We regret that without court intervention, the

state bar's ability to effectively protect the public will be irreparably

harmed,'' State Bar President Marc Adelman wrote in a letter to the Supreme

Court. Frustrated by some of the bar's liberal stances, the Republican

governor vetoed a bill in October that would have authorized the bar to

collect the bulk of the fees. Since then, the bar, lawmakers and Wilson

have been locked in a legal stalemate that threatens to put the bulk of

workers at the bar out of work at the end of this week.

Before Wilson's veto, the bar collected $458 a year from each attorney to

pay for most of its $61 million budget. Now, however, the bar collects only

$77 from each member. By contrast, the Medical Board of California charges

doctors $300 a year, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper. The bar

has already stopped investigating new complaints and has shut down its

consumer hotline, which typically responds to some 140,000 calls each year.

Bar spokeswoman Anne Charles said only a bare-bones staff would remain if

the layoffs occur as scheduled. She said the number of people available to

discipline errant attorneys would be reduced by 90 %.

OTTAWA (CP): By Laura Eggertson, Toronto Star

Ottawa Bureau, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to investigate an

alleged Health Canada cover-up involving breast implants eight years ago,

the case the Mounties are now probing, The Star has learned. Officials from

the RCMP's commercial crimes division are seeking documentation and

questioning former Health Canada officials and others. Health Canada is

overlooking the health risks associated with saline breast implants,

despite recent legal action taken by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) against a leading manufacturer, a former government scientist warned

Wednesday. Dr. Pierre Blais, now an Ottawa-based consultant on high-risk

medical devices, warned the department about silicone breast implants years

before they were banned and said he was later dismissed for making his

concerns public. Now Blais said the federal government risks facing the

same public relations mess it had on its hands when it finally banned Meme

implants in 1993 if it doesn't start to take a hard look at the safety of

saline implants. The RCMP confirmed earlier this week that it had

launched an investigation into how the government regulated the silicone

products. "The department once again is going down exactly the same

track, they're not making any decision and they're going to wait until we

have a major public health problem on our hands. It's hepatitis C all over

again," Blais said. A Health Canada release Wednesday acknowledged the

probe, saying the agency would "co-operate fully with any investigation,"

and adding the issue had already been subject to "significant independent

scrutiny." An internal review and an external audit were conducted in

1991 into the way the department regulated the products, the release noted.

Both investigations concluded Health Canada had fulfilled its obligations.

The FDA announced last month that it took legal action against Texas-based

Mentor Corp. for failing to comply with the agency's quality standards in

the production of saline implants. A group of women in Denver are also

mounting a class-action suit against the company for a line of saline

products which have since been discontinued. The FDA will wrap up a

four-year study on the safety of saline implants later this year. Health

Canada said it approved two types of Mentor implants in 1997. An

epidemiological study on all types of implants is currently underway, a

spokeswoman said. Saline-filled implants are silicone envelopes filled

with salt water. They were on the market before either the FDA or Health

Canada began to have regulatory authority over the products. Risks

associated with the implants include rupture and infection. Dr. Walter

Peters, a University of Toronto surgeon who regularly analyses implants,

said saline products are perfectly fine and there have only been a few

documented cases of microrganisms growing inside the sacs. "We've never

seen a fungus culture in over 400 implants we've looked at ..

The saline ones, if they rupture, just release saline. I don't see that as

the next doomsday with breast implants." But Blais said he's also studied

hundreds of saline implants, some of which look like a "dirty aquarium"

after just a few years in a patient's body because of fundamental design

flaws that allow materials to pass through the silicone envelope.

"Everyone forgot what happens when you keep water in a closed but not quite

well closed enough container ... Give it a year or two inside someone, and

you then look at the saline and it contains decaying tissue, dead blood

cells and in some cases bacteria."

Breast Implants on Trial: A 55-year-old Oklahoma City doctor who performs

breast augmentation is serving six months in federal prison for smuggling

into the United States unapproved silicone gel-filled breast implants from

a foreign manufacturer. J. Dan Metcalf, M.D., a family practitioner, is

believed to be the first person prosecuted for violating U.S. restrictions

on use of unapproved silicone gel-filled breast implants. He illegally

imported the implants from Brazil and the Bahama Islands, used them to

enlarge the breasts of 200 women and sold some to other U.S. doctors. The

federal investigation continues, according to Special Agent Kent Wood of

FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations. Since April 1992, FDA has allowed

silicone gel-filled breast implants only in women enrolled in clinical

studies and then mainly for reconstruction after breast cancer surgery and

certain other medical conditions. At this time, women who want implants for

augmentation must get saline-filled breast implants.

FDA issued a three-month moratorium in April 1992, following years of

debate on the safety of silicone gel-filled breast implants and whether or

not the medical devices should remain on the market. FDA turned down

manufacturers' applications for approval of the implants submitted after

the three-month moratorium because FDA found that the information was not

sufficient to prove the safety and effectiveness of the devices. The

studies under way are intended to provide more definite information about

implant safety. (See "A Status Report on Breast Implant Safety" in the

November 1995 FDA Consumer.) Metcalf was indicted in the U.S. District

Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in July 1995. He was sentenced

last March. In addition to the prison sentence, he was fined $5,000,

ordered to forfeit assets of about $312,000 and sentenced to one year's

probation. FDA, along with U.S. Customs and the Internal Revenue services,

began investigating Metcalf in early 1994 after Metcalf's former office

manager, who also doubled as Metcalf's surgical assistant, and her mother

reported the doctor's activities to investigator Lloyd Paine at FDA's

Oklahoma City resident post. The former office manager who provided most of

the information said she had quit her job because Metcalf's wife, her

sister, had been taking over her role in the business. She provided

photocopied documentation of Metcalf's activities including lists of

patients' names and records of phone calls and financial transactions

between the doctor and his implant sources.

Armed with this information and a search warrant, FDA, Customs and IRS

special agents searched Metcalf's office, residence, and bank safe deposit

box on May 24, 1994. At Metcalf's office and residence, they seized 470

pairs of silicone gel-filled breast implants, worth about $200,000, medical

records of all patients who had received silicone breast implants since

April 1992, and various business records. With this information, the

agencies determined that Metcalf had been importing silicone breast

implants made by the Brazilian silicone implant company Silimed, of Rio de

Janeiro, since shortly after FDA turned down the implant manufacturers'

applications in 1992. According to FDA's Wood, Metcalf tried to buy direct

from the Brazilian company, but the head of the company told him he would

not do business in the United States. So, Metcalf arranged to buy the

implants through doctors in Brazil and Nassau, in the Bahamas. Metcalf had

the implants delivered through such mail carriers as Skynet and Federal

Express to his employees' residences in Oklahoma City. He then implanted

the devices in 200 women, who, according to Wood, learned about his

augmentation business by word of mouth. He kept some implants on hand and

sold the rest to other U.S. doctors who also performed breast augmentation.

On July 19, 1995, a federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment

against Metcalf that included, among other things, charges of illegally

importing silicone gel-filled breast implants and laundering more than

$300,000 in proceeds. Metcalf pleaded guilty Nov. 14, 1995, to one count

of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The remaining

charges were dropped. According to Wood, the state of Oklahoma is

investigating Metcalf for possible improper medical practice. He also faces

a number of class-action suits brought by his breast implant patients, who,

according to Wood, were unaware that Metcalf was illegally importing the

breast implants until news of his

indictment and arrest on July 26, 1995, became public. The seized implants

remain in FDA's possession and will be destroyed. (by Paula Kurtzweil)

WASHINGTON (AP) By Laurie Asseo: A Texas woman who says she had to have

plastic surgery after receiving collagen injections to reduce facial

wrinkles lost a Supreme Court appeal today that sought to revive her

lawsuit against the collagen maker.

The court, without comment, turned away the woman's argument she should be

allowed to sue the Collagen Corp. under state law even though its product

was approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration. Tempie Fortson

Worthy of Dallas received injections in 1991 of Zyderm, a collagen product

used to treat facial defects including wrinkles. In 1992, she sued the Palo

Alto, Calif.-based Collagen Corp., saying the treatment caused a severe

reaction that required reconstructive surgery, among other treatments.

Zyderm was approved for sale in 1981 by the FDA under procedures set up by

the 1976 federal Medical Device Amendments, intended to ensure that medical

devices are safe and effective. Texas state judges dismissed Worthy's

lawsuit, saying the federal approval procedure pre-empted any damage claims

filed under state law. While the case was pending, the Supreme Court ruled

in a 1996 case involving a heart pacemaker that manufacturers of medical

devices at least sometimes can be sued in state courts over alleged defects

in their products. But the Texas Supreme Court ruled last February that

even under that decision Worthy could not sue under state law. "Collagen

cannot both market Zyderm in compliance with FDA requirements and not

market Zyderm because it is unsafe," the state court said. In the appeal

acted on today, Worthy's lawyers said the Texas court misinterpreted the

1996 ruling. The approval received by Zyderm does not automatically

pre-empt lawsuits under state law, her lawyers argued. Attorneys for

Collagen said, "Congress did not intend the FDA's findings of safety and

effectiveness to be overridden by state court juries." Zyderm went through

a more rigorous approval process than the device in the pacemaker case,

they added. The case is Worthy vs. Collagen Corp., 97-1831.

MEDICAL INFORMATION: Chicago, 6/17/98 (Reuters): An inhaled form of insulin

appears to be successful in treating patients with both type 1 (juvenile

onset) and type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. Data from clinical trials

involving the new delivery system were presented Tuesday at the 58th Annual

Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

(God help us all, look at what they are doing now!!) PERMANENT LIP

AUGMENTATION USING AUTOLOGOUS BREAST IMPLANT CAPSULE, Author: Isenberg JS:

University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, USA. Source:

Ann Plast Surg, 1996 Aug, 37:2, 121-4; Abstract: Permanent augmentation of

lip volume can be achieved either with autologous or nonautologous

implants. The constant risk of infectious complications remains the

disadvantage of nonautologous implants. Likewise, autologous implants of

dermis, fat, or fascia are prone to reabsorption and require an additional

donor incision. In several patients undergoing revisional aesthetic breast

augmentation, grafts of scar capsule were utilized for lip augmentation.

At 10 months, persistent volume enhancement results.

ROCKVILLE, Md., June 18 (Reuters) A shortage of a vital immunity-boosting

blood product called immune globulin is easing slightly, a U.S. Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) official said. "Since November 1997, there has

been a 40 % increase per month in the supply released,'' said Basil Golding

of the FDA's division of hematology. However, physicians said supplies

remain short. Last November, the FDA became aware, through 30 to 40 calls

per day from concerned physicians and hospitals, of a severe shortage,

Golding said. The product is given intravenously to people with weakened

immune systems or rare immune defects. At least 25,000 Americans receive

immune globulin regularly. The FDA does not monitor blood products to

ensure proper supplies, but has worked with manufacturers to improve

quality and reduce the time it takes a finished lot of immune globulin to

reach the market. It now takes two to three days instead of two to three

weeks, Golding said. Much of last year's shortage was due to recalls as a

result of contaminated products or other manufacturing defects. One unnamed

company was responsible for the majority of recalls, he said. The main

manufacturers are Baxter International, Bayer, Centeon, and Alpha

Therapeutic. There was also higher-than-expected demand as unapproved

uses soared. Also, many recalls occurred when donors, whose blood was used

to make immune globulin, were discovered to be at risk for, or to have, the

fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Manufacturers were accused of stockpiling

the substance to extract higher prices and of diverting product overseas,

which they heatedly denied. 87% of several hundred doctors polled in

April by the Immune Deficiency Foundation said they had trouble getting

immune globulin in the last six months. They coped by postponing and

delaying infusions, switching brands and decreasing dosages. As a result,

almost half said their patients had experienced a negative health effect.

Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories of St. Davids, Pa. has announced that it is

voluntarily withdrawing Duract (bromfenac) from the market. The action

follows postmarketing reports of rare severe liver failure in patients in

whom the drug was used for extended periods of time which was not in

accordance with labeling instructions. The following may be used to respond

to questions. Duract, a NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), was

submitted to the Agency in l994 and was approved in July l997 for short

term management of acute pain (use for 10 days or less). It was never

approved as a treatment for longer term use for chronic conditions such as

osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

In February l998, in response to the reports of severe liver failure (and

transplants), FDA and the company strengthened the warnings in Duract's

labeling with a special black box warning and Wyeth-Ayerst issued a Dear

Doctor letter. The revised label re-emphasized that patients should not

take the drug for more than 10 days and alerted physicians and other health

care professionals to the cases of severe hepatitis and liver failure (and

cases in which patients required a transplant) in patients who had taken

Duract. Despite these efforts, the agency and the company continued to

receive reports of severe injuries and death with long term use of Duract.

Given the availability of other therapies, FDA and Wyeth-Ayerst concluded

that it would not be practical to implement the restrictions necessary to

assure the safe use (less than 10 days) of Duract. The company and FDA

agreed that it would be prudent to withdraw the drug from the market.

Wyeth-Ayerst is advising doctors to discontinue prescribing and dispensing

Duract immediately. FDA is also advising patients to contact their doctors

with any questions about use of the drug. Wyeth-Ayerst is providing the new

information in a Dear Doctor letter to physicians, pharmacists, and health

care professionals. Questions from patients or health care professionals

about the withdrawal of Duract can be addressed to Wyeth-Ayerst's hotline

at 1-800-281-9260.

June 22, 1998 Published UK: Immune system blamed for Chronic Fatigue:

Melatonin could be the secret behind chronic fatigue syndrome. Health

Scientists are confident they have found a physical cause for the

conntroversial condition Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. They believe it may be

caused by the body's reaction to stress which

effectively leads to the immune system becoming overloaded. Researchers

found that people with CFS produced unusually high levels of the hormone

melatonin, which stimulates the immune system and plays an important role

in promoting sleep.

Melatonin is vital for maintaining the body's correct diurnal rhythms,

helping a person sleep at night and stay awake during the day. for this

reason it is used to treat insomnia and jet-lag. The researchers at Guy's

and St Thomas's Hospitals, London, are convinced that the hormone is the

key to CFS. They believe their findings may lead to the much-misunderstood

condition being re-classified as an immune system disorder. Some doctors

still believe CFS to be "all in the mind", although most now agree that to

some degree it has a physical cause. The symptoms of CFS include

debilitating fatigue, neurological problems, general pain,

gastro-intestinal problems and a variety of flu-like symptoms. Severity

can differ widely among patients and will also vary over time for the same

patient. Suicides rise. Severity can vary between getting unusually

fatigued following stressful events to being totally bedridden and

completely disabled. The symptoms will tend to wax and wane over time. Dr

Theodore Soutzos and Dr Ram Seth discovered the melatonin link after

measuring daily production of the hormone in 44 CFS patients and 17 healthy

volunteers.

They found that melatonin levels were higher in the CFS group as a whole.

When patients with "active" symptoms, as opposed to those who were

"improving", were looked at in isolation, the pattern became "massively

significant". The findings were presented at the Royal College of

Psychiatrists' annual meeting in Belfast.

Pathological problem: Dr Soutzos said: "What is interesting is that

melatonin is an immuno-enhancer; it drives the immune system. If you

deprive mice of melatonin, for instance, they start dying of cancer. "One

theory could be that some people drive their immune systems so hard that it

becomes pathological. In certain individuals with an inherent vulnerability

it could set off chronic fatigue syndrome." This in turn could be

stress-related, which would explain how psychological and physical factors

could work together in CFS, said Dr Soutzos. "People who drive themselves

excessively and are under stress artificially put their immune systems

under pressure," he said. "There is a

negative feedback system which returns things to normal, but all you need

is a slight imbalance and you get a vicious cycle." A possible answer

would be to treat the problem aggressively at the outset, before the

vicious circle becomes established. This might involve either adjusting

peak melatonin levels or reducing production of the hormone. (Wonder if

this explains why melatonin kept me awake when I had CFIDS?).

LOS ANGELES 05/17/98 (Reuters): Trials show Herceptin slows spread of

breast cancer: Human trials of Genentech Inc.'s drug Herceptin showed it

can prevent the spread of metastatic breast cancer by up to three months,

cancer researchers said Sunday. Phase III trials of the drug in human

patients, typically one of the final hurdles before approval by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration, showed Herceptin helped stop the spread of

cancer and slowed tumor growth in women with metastatic breast cancer when

added to chemotherapy. If Herceptin gains FDA approval, as expected later

this year, it will become the first monoclonal antibody for the treatment

of metastatic breast cancer. A cancer is metastatic when it has spread from

the original tumor to other parts of the body. Herceptin works by

targeting the HER2/neu protein. About 25 to 30 % of women with breast

cancer "overexpress'', or produce too much of the protein due to a genetic

defect. The trial was conducted on 469 women who produced too much of the

HER2/neu protein. Dr. Dennis Slamon, director of the Revlon/UCLA Women's

Cancer Research program who was a lead scientist on the trial, said

Herceptin slowed or stopped the spread of the cancer by up to three months

in women with metastatic breast cancer who produced too much HER2/neu

protein. Women with metastatic breast cancer who over-produce the protein

typically live for 10-18 months once the cancer has become metastatic, he

said. Doctors at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting

here called the drug a medical breakthrough because it is the first breast

cancer treatment targeted to attack a specific genetic defect. "This

proves the paradigm that if we understand what is broken in the malignant

cell we can possibly fix it," said Slamon. "Herceptin is the first

successful cancer treatment that targets a specific genetic alteration as

opposed to using a shotgun approach that kills both diseased and healthy

cells," he added. Herceptin avoids traditional chemotherapy side effects

such as hair loss and significant drops in blood counts, he said. When

taken with the drugs Adriamycin and Cytoxin, Herceptin showed 50 % greater

breast cancer reduction in 52 % of patients compared to a 43 % response in

patients who took Adriamycin and Cytoxin alone. When taken with the drug

Taxol 42 % of women had a significant response compared to just 16 % in

patients taking Taxol alone. Overall, Herceptin taken with traditional

chemotherapy drugs had a 50 % better response rate than women who only used

usual chemotherapy. Dr. Craig Henderson, who was on a panel to discuss the

drug, said that the trial, paid for jointly through public and private

funds, was a true pay-off for taxpayers. "The tax payers are getting their

money back," he said. This is science at its best and most elegant.''

Another doctor on the panel said he expected "a tidal wave" of future drugs

would use a similar approach. Breast cancer is the most prevalent form of

cancer in women, with about 180,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United

States and 43,500 deaths from breast cancer expected this year. Slamon

said Herceptin had the potential to treat other forms of cancer where the

HER2/neu protein was overexpressed such as ovarian and gastric cancer.

Monoclonal antibodies can recognize antigens on the surface of cancer cells

and bind to tumor cells thereby interrupting their biological processes and

killing them. Herceptin was made using genetic material from a mouse and

then "humanizing'' it so the body's immune system would not attack it.

Almost 20,000 doctors attended the ASCO conference to discuss new advances

in cancer treatment. Cancer is second only to heart attacks as a cause of

death in the United States. About half of those diagnosed do not survive,

1.2 million cases of cancer are diagnosed annually and about 565,000

American are expected to die of the various types of cancer in 1998.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: Press Release, Contact: Maria Perry, IBIS medical

software: With nearly half of Americans now using some form of alternative

therapies, Integrative Medical Arts Group Inc. (IMAGUS) of Portland, OR.,

has released a new version of its IBIS medical software, the standard

reference tool on natural medicine for healthcare professionals (for over

six years). IBIS, The Interactive BodyMind Information System, provides

therapeutic options to treat 282 common medical conditions, drawing from

the full spectrum of alternative therapies and integrative medicine. IBIS

also contains clinical information on herbs, nutritional supplements and a

wide range of natural substances as well as a patient educational materials

such as home care instructions, visualizations, recipes and exercises. The

newest version of IBIS features state-of-the-art multiplatform programming,

an elegant and intuitive interface and hundreds of new articles providing

up-to-date information on topics of concern to patients and physicians

alike. Yet this new version of IBIS is generating a new level of attention

not just because of what's in it but because of who's using it. Even the

most conservative elements of the medical community recognize the need for

an authoritative reference on these often confusing topics. While previous

versions of IBIS have been widely praised in the natural medicine

community, this new release has generated excitement in some unexpected

quarters, conventional medical schools, clinics, pharmacies and hospitals.

Likewise, patients everywhere will be happy to know that their medical

doctors and the local hospital now have access to reliable information on

herbs, homeopathy, nutritional supplements and the other forms of

alternative medicine that they want to include among their healthcare

options.

The Interactive BodyMind Information System (IBIS) is a comprehensive

clinical database that enables healthcare providers and allied

professionals to become more familiar with nutrition, acupuncture,

homeopathy, Western and Chinese herbs and psychospiritual approaches and

integrate these remedies into their own practices. Designed by practicing

healthcare professionals, IBIS was originally compiled over four years of

research by a team of Naturopathic Physicians (NDs), herbalists,

acupuncturists, chiropractors, homeopaths and medical students. It features

more than 10,000 pages of hyperlinked clinical data together with modules

that enable users to add their own notes, record patient-visit records and

analyze clinical outcomes. Since it was first published in 1992, IBIS has

become the standard reference tool for healthcare professionals needing

quick, balanced and reliable information on alternative medical therapies.

While usage during its first three years was tilted toward naturopaths,

acupuncturists and chiropractors, the last three years have seen a large

increase in demand from medical doctors, pharmacists, clinics, medical

schools, libraries and hospitals. Doctors hear the boom in natural

medicine. Natural medicine and alternative therapies are booming, a trend

that appears to be no passing fad but a fundamental shift in American

healthcare. In response to consumer demand, a new ''integrative medicine''

is emerging, combining the best of

conventional medicine and alternative therapies.

Many doctors were taken by surprise in January 1993 when Dr. David

Eisenberg of Harvard Medical School released a landmark study in the New

England Journal of Medicine showing that one-third of Americans were using

unconventional medicine. More recent studies have found that 40 to 50

percent of Americans are using alternative therapies (Elder, Archives Fam

Med., March 19, 1997; Astin, JAMA, May 20, 1998). Other research shows that

even more are taking herbs and supplements on their own. Patient interest

has far outpaced the resources of doctors, hospitals and insurance

companies as they discover that their standard texts and reference books do

not cover herbs, supplements and homeopathic remedies. Patients often feel

that they know more than their doctors do and that physicians aren't

listening to them or respecting their choices. Responsible physicians, for

their part, desire reliable information about the choices that their

patients are making so that they can give better advice and treatment.

It is crucial that physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare providers

have up-to-date, balanced and scientifically-founded reference tools to

effectively and responsibly approach non-conventional medicine, to become

aware of its strengths and informed about clinical indications, proper

dosages, toxicities and interactions. Just because something is natural

doesn't mean it is effective or safe; if a medicine or supplement is

powerful, then a trained healthcare professional needs to supervise its

use. In response, we see practitioners from all fields of medicine

communicating more and starting to work together to create a new

integrative medicine: A 1994 survey of physicians from a wide range of

medical specialties and diverse locales revealed that more than 60 %

recommended alternative therapies to their patients at least once in the

preceding year, while 38 % had done so in the previous month. 47 % used

alternative therapies themselves, while 23 % incorporated them into their

practices. (Borkan, et al, J Fam Pract, 1994;39:545-550; Perkin, et al. J R

Soc Med, 1994;87:523-525; MacLennan, et al. Lancet. 1996;347:569-573) Last

fall's NIH Consensus Conference on Acupuncture gave enhanced credibility to

the ancient art of acupuncture based on solid scientific findings and a

meta-analysis of placebo-controlled clinical trials of homeopathy published

in The Lancet (Sept. 20, 1997) confirmed that positive clinical results

were significantly greater than could be attributable to placebo effects.

A majority of conventional medical schools in the United States now have at

least minimal coursework available as an introduction to nonconventional

therapies and medical traditions such as acupuncture, herbalism, Ayurveda

and homeopathy. Many of these are considered conventional or traditional in

many parts of the world but are new to most doctors. Likewise, professional

and post-graduate doctoral programs in naturopathic medicine, chiropractic

and acupuncture are flourishing as new colleges are being accredited and

graduates move into the professional healthcare delivery system.

IBIS helps bring alternatives into the mainstream. IBIS provides an

easy-to-use reference tool for evaluating alternative and complementary

medical disciplines as they become part of the medical mainstream. Such

tools will certainly be necessary as traditional insurance companies

further expand their coverage to include alternative therapies and HMOs

begin to enroll the licensed practitioners of such therapies in their

plans. This has already occurred in Washington state and is part of nearly

every coverage-provider's future direction. Medicine has always been based

on discovery, innovation and dialogue. To be successful in achieving

meaningful evolution, healthcare practitioners emphasize the need for

shared assumptions, increased familiarity and common language.

''Just as a naturopathic doctor or an acupuncturist needs to study and be

able to look up information on pharmaceuticals and surgical procedures,

every medical doctor, nurse and pharmacist should be at least conversant

with the basics of alternative therapies and be able to access clinical

data on herbs, supplements, homeopathics and other medicines,'' said

Mitchell B. Stargrove, N.D., L.Ac., the developer of IBIS and a Professor

of the History of Medicine. ''More and more we will be seeing teams of

practitioners from various approaches working together to care for patients

with more chronic and severe conditions.''

Dr. Stargrove and his associates have hosted HealthWWWeb, a popular

educational and resource-oriented website, and Paracelsus, an Internet

discussion group for dialogue among healthcare professionals of different

disciplines for the past four years. Patients will be reassured to see

their healthcare providers talking with each other, gaining respect for

each other's strengths, and cooperating together for greater clinical

effectiveness. Tools such as IBIS and forums such as Paracelsus contribute

toward this goal.

IBIS runs on Windows95/98/NT, with minimum system requirements of 35

megabytes of hard drive space available and 16 megabytes of RAM. A new

version for Macintosh OS and UNIX will soon be available and World Wide Web

access is planned for later this year. The cost of IBIS is $695 for

clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, healthfood stores and other institutions;

individual healthcare providers are eligible for a $100 discount and

students at accredited schools are eligible for a 20% student discount.

Quarterly content updates are available by subscription. The current

Professional Version of IBIS is only available to healthcare practitioners,

educators and allied professionals, but a version for the general public is

anticipated in response to high demand. You can learn more about IBIS on

the World Wide Web at <www.Integrative-Medicine.com.>

HealthWWWeb, and its calendar of events, Resource Guide, links to related

World Wide Web sites, and directory of educational institutions,

professional associations, and other valuable resources, can be accessed

via the URL: <www.HealthWWWeb.com.>

If you are a healthcare professional and want to share insights with over

600-900 other practitioners, send an e-mail message to

<ParacelsusSupport@HealthWWWeb.com> and ask for information on how to

subscribe.

About the company: Integrative Medical Arts Group, Inc. (IMAGUS) develops

and distributes software tools and other resources for healthcare

professionals and the general public. We can be reached at 503/526-1972 or

via e-mail as imagus@Integrative-Medicine.com. Our fax number is

503/641-4541. Interactive BodyMind Information System®, Imagus * and

HealthWWWeb* are

trademarks of Integrative Medical Arts., Inc.

WHAT IS HYPERBARIC OXYGEN? Hyperbaric Oxygen, also called HBOT. Is medical

treatment in which the patient breathes pure oxygen under a pressure

greater than normal atmospheric pressure. It is used, usually as part of

an overall medical care plan, for a wide variety of treatments. HBOT is

simple in concept and is both safe and effective. The patient's

bloodstream has its oxygen level raised many times above the normal which

helps control infections and promote healing many types of illness or

injury (as well as plastic surgery). In the plastic surgery patient, it

can rapidly speed the healing process which would mean much less down time

for the patient who has had elective surgery.

How is HBOT administered? The patient is placed inside a chamber which is

then pressurized with medical quality air. When pressurization is

completed, the patient breathes healing oxygen from a mask. Plastic

surgery patients have a mask made just for this reason. In France there

are many units only for plastic surgery because of the dramatic effects in

many cases (up to 70% reduction in recovery time). Usually treatment time

will be between 30-90 minutes. The number of treatments will vary with the

patient and the illness. Is it safe and are there side effects? Trained

support technicians monitor and control the chamber. Most patients read or

watch videos during treatment. Some sleep or listen to music. There are

few counter-indications for HBOT. It is not for patients suffering with

heavy colds or sinusitus. Extra precautions can be taken with pressure

changes. What can be treated with HBOT? HBOT can be used to treat all

conditions which benefit from the increased tissue oxygen availability.

HBOT has angiogenic (growing new blood vessels) properties. It will boost

the immune system. HBOT can also be used for its antibiotic properties,

either as a primary therapy or as an adjunct to other procedures or

medications. A unique and valuable attribute of HBOT lies in its ability

to bring back into full body bio-electric activity brain cells or neurons

which have been compromised by hypoxic or neurotoxic accidents and have

been 'idling' (That is, they are alive but not functional). Some

indications for HBOT: Carbon monoxide or smoke inhalation, crush injury,

acute ischemia, burns, plastic and reconstructive surgery, near death

drowning, hanging or electrocution, gangrene, soft tissue necrosis, spider

bite, wound healing, radiation sickness, bone infections (osteomyelitis),

acute peripheral arterial insufficiency, skin grafts, all edema, (spinal,

cerebral, under cast plastic surgery), congestive heart failure, stroke,

lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, lyme's disease, closed head

injury, anoxic brain injury, spinal cord contusion, cranial nerve syndrome,

encephalitis, peripheral neuropathy, frostbite, non-union fractures.

Current advances: Migraine headaches, Alzheimer's/senility, acceleration of

tumor necrosis in cancer, AIDS, cardiac dysfunction, detox, stroke, M.S.,

Parkinson's disease, prarsites, toxic brain. In Germany, HBOT is given to

all stroke victims under the German Health Scheme. It has been shown to

reduce aftercare cost by more than 70%. It has also shown great

improvement in M.S. patients. HBOT is the healthy way to improve health.

HBOT FOR SILICONE POISONING: About 2 million US women have had silicone

breast implants. Polydimethylsiloxane has been used either in implants or

by injection for a variety of purposes including mammoplasty, filling of

the tissue voids in reconstruction surgery and prostheses for cosmetic and

other purposes and of course silicone was used for some years for brain

"Shunts". Injected silicone material was found to pose severe health

problems including cancer, arthritis and chronic fatigue syndrome as well

as other immunobased and allergic reactions. Some patients with breast

implants who exhibited such symptoms have been shown by Enzyme-linked Sero

Assay (Elisa) test to posses elevated IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE silicone

antibodies. In addition to the silicone reactions from silicone implants,

the polyurethane implants shells themselves are now known to break down

under metabolic activity and produce 2,4, toluenediamine and 2,6

toluenediamine, both of which are carcinogenic and able to react with the

neurominic acids to produce phthalocyanine dichloride which in turn reacts

with silicone to produce a precursor to silicone "stacked rings"

phthalocyanines.

This form of cyanide toxin induced metabolic impairment in the brain

inhibits production of adenosine triphosphate, adequate supplies of

which are required to avert lipofuscin accumulations, to promote

phagocytosis and for natural detoxification. An abnormal sodium and

potassium ion interchanges. In the course of this abnormal chemistry in

the brain, polyunsaturated fatty acids become destabilized as the double

bonds within membranes allow the easy extraction of hydrogen atoms. This

starts a reaction in which peroxy radical combine with hydrogen to lipid

hyperaldehydes. This series of reactions conjugated as diones can initiate

chain reactions leading to numerous toxic and allergic responses in the

patient as membranes cross link damaging their integrity and their

essential proteins. The glutamatergic neuronal process can lose energy

dramatically due to hypoxia or hyperglycemia and from further neurotoxins.

SYMPTOMS: Dopamines can be released, and the patients may suffer symptoms

of confusion or intermittent panic. In the immunsuppressed patient, many

strains of fungi will be able to flourish and allergic reactions to these

and other invasory micro-organisms are common as are developing allergies

to many chemicals (especially hydrocarbons). The symptoms of silicone

allergy are therefore associated with cyanide blockage of part of the

hemoglobin oxygen transportation mechanism with neurotoxin responses and

with lipofuscin accumulation.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has been shown to disperse

lipofuscins, burn out cyanide poisoning (a category one use for HBOT) and

in many cases destroy a wide range of neuro-toxins. HBOT also has a well

earned reputation as an immune system enhancer and is also able in many

cases to reactivate idling neurons. Experience with anoxic encephalopathy

has shown that neurons are able to be "idling" for up to 15 years and still

be recovered to normal activity as soon as good oxidation is present. Over

90% of all the oxygen used by humans is consumed in the mitochondria and

this makes hypoxic conditions in that area singularly threatening, as the

mitochondria are not very efficient in any case at controlling the

electrical components of the mechanism of breathing. It is notable that

restoration of good oxidation of the mitochondria usually results in the

breathing difficulties of silicone reaction patients (usually described as

"choking sensations") resolving very quickly. Single Photon Emission

Computer Tomography (BRAIN SPECT SCAN): Patients with sequelae to

silicone implant leakage almost always exhibit the same abnormalities on

Spect Brain Scan and seem to recover from their symptoms when SPECT scans

become normal. Abnormalities usually include bilateral cortical lack of

perfusion; this together with a history of silicone implants or past

silicone injections and the symptoms described would seem to be a good

rationale for HBOT treatment. Some patients have in the past been mis-

diagnosed as cases of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and while they exhibited all

of the symptoms of silicone reactions, they did not show the usual

"plaqueletts" distributed in the brain scans by Magnetic Resonance

imaging (MRI). Patients have also been diagnosed as having ALS, Lupus, and

sclerodrema and have later been found to have silicone reactions instead.

However, the disease process does indeed mimic the above stated. It must

also be stated that Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used in Europe for

treatment of MS, ALS, as well as lupus and has been very successful in the

typical disease. Written by Susan Rodriguez. To contact Susan for info.:

(909) 989-3378, 7734 Perlite Ave., Rancho Cucamonga, CA Rapid Recovery

Hyperbarics.

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION: From our readers: After you shampoo, does your

hair have a glossy look and feel? If it does, you might not guess your

shampoo's secret ingredient. It's probably silicone. And, oh yes, silicone

helps prevents split ends. Also, clothes that stay crisp even when the

weather goes damp have likely been treated with silicone fluid. The

versatility of silicone can waterproof your jacket or even give an

absorbent luster to your towels. (Doesn't this just thrill you??!! Do you

read labels??)

IMPORTANT: Warning about tampons: Tampons contain two things that are

potentially harmful: Rayon (for absorbency) and dioxin (a chemical used in

bleaching the products). The tampon industry is convinced that we, as

women, need bleached white products; they seem to think that we view the

product as pure and clean. The problem here is that the dioxin produced in

this bleaching process can lead to very harmful problems for a woman.

Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic (cancer associated) and is toxic to the

immune and reproductive system. It has been linked to endometriosis as

well as lower sperm counts for men-for both, it breaks down the immune

system. Last September the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported

that there really is no set "acceptable" level of exposure to dioxin, given

that it is cumulative and slow to disintegrate, the real danger comes from

repeated contact (Karen Houppert "Pulling the Plug on the Tampon

Industry"). I'd say using about 5 tampons a day, five days a month for 38

menstruating years is "repeated contact," wouldn't you? Rayon contributes

to the danger of tampons and dioxin because it is a highly absorbent

substance and therefore when fibers from the tampons are left behind in the

vagina (as usually occurs), it creates a breeding ground for the dioxin and

stays in a lot longer than it would with just cotton tampons. This is also

the reason why TSS (toxic shock syndrome) occurs. WHAT ARE THE

ALTERNATIVES? Using feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached (which

causes the dioxin) and that are all cotton (the rayon will leave fibers and

"breeding grounds" in the vagina). Other feminine hygiene products

(pads/napkins) contain dioxin as well, but they are not nearly as

dangerous since they are not in direct contact with the vagina. The

pads/napkins need to stop being bleached, but obviously tampons are the

most dangerous. So, what can you do if you can't give up using tampons?

Use tampons that are made from 100% cotton and that are unbleached.

Unfortunately, there are very very few companies that make these safe

tampons. They are usually only found in health food stores. Countries all

over the world (Sweden, Germany, British Columbia, etc.) have demanded a

switch to this safer tampon, while the U.S. has decided to keep us in the

dark about it. In 1989, activists in England mounted a campaign against

chlorine bleaching. Six weeks and 50,000 letters later, the makers of

sanitary products switched to oxygen bleaching (one of the green methods

available) (Ms. magazine, May/June 1995).

Dow Told to Clean Up Contaminated Water The San Francisco Chronicle: Dow

Chemical Co. is expected to spend millions of dollars cleaning up

contaminated water believed to be seeping toward a nearby water supply,

after a recent order by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The

company, located along the banks of the San Joaquin River between Pittsburg

and Antioch in Contra Costa County, has until March 2000 to comply with the

clean-up order issued Wednesday, plant spokesman Scott Anderson said. The

company must capture and treat contaminated water stemming from chemical

discharges in the 1950s when environmental restrictions were less

stringent. State officials said the contaminated water is flowing into the

New York Slough, downriver of an Antioch water pumping location and several

miles from a Contra Costa Water District water source.

Meanwhile, the environmental group, San Francisco Bay Keeper, is suing the

company for allegedly violating terms of Proposition 65, which regulates

the release of carcinogens into the environment. Anderson said the

company now discharges treated water according to federal Environmental

Protection Agency and Regional Water Quality Control guidelines. "There is

groundwater contamination all along the river," Anderson said, noting

that the plant has been monitoring wells and treating groundwater since the

early 1990s. "It's moving slowly northeast. We have to either have a system

to prevent it from moving off the plant site, or we have to capture all the

water and treat it."

The Cost of Being a Woman: Although sex differences in health care

expenditures have been observed, (1) it is unclear whether they are related

to differences in patterns of illness or preferences for care or to sex

bias among health care providers. As health care resources become more

constrained, it is important to examine whether women and men receive

equitable care. In this issue of the Journal, Mustard et al. (2) report an

elegant study of sex differences in expenditures for physicians' services

and acute hospital care among all citizens of the province of Manitoba,

Canada, during 1994-1995. Expenditures were divided into three categories:

those related to conditions specific to sex, those related to the process

of dying (i.e., for care during the last year of life), and those related

to all other conditions. The data presented by Mustard et al. suggest that

health care expenditures are similar for women and men after adjustment for

differences in the use of services related to reproductive biology and for

differences in mortality. Overall, women were found to use approximately 30

percent more health care resources than men, but the majority of this

excess was associated with conditions related to reproduction. The authors

carefully examined sex differences in expenditures over the course of life.

Women used more services during the childbearing years, and men used more

services at the extremes of age. Although expenditures for sex-specific

conditions explain most of the differences in expenditures during the

childbearing years, the higher expenditures for elderly men persisted after

the authors controlled for the costs of dying.

Although this study suggests that biology explains a substantial portion of

the difference in health care expenditures between women and men, a more

vexing question remains unanswered. Is the apparently equal distribution of

health care dollars equitable? Several facts suggest that equal spending is

nonetheless inequitable. Women in Canada (and in the United States) live

longer than men, but longevity is associated with a greater lifetime risk

of functional disability and chronic illness, including cancer,

cardiovascular disease, and dementia and a greater need for long-term care.

(3) Preventive measures and interventions to reduce risk factors for chronic

disease and functional decline are needed to improve the health status of

women. In addition to the greater lifetime risk of a chronic disease and

disability for women, several observations suggest that inequalities

between the sexes in health status are present throughout life. To some

extent, discrepancies between women's and men's health status reflect the

social inequality of women and men. In Canada, the rate of poverty is

higher for women than for men in all age groups, and this social adversity

may result in poorer health. (4) After adjustment for age, women in the

United States are more likely than men to report that they are in poor or

fair health. (5) Although women continue to live longer than men, by an

average of 6.4 years, the age-adjusted mortality rate is declining for men,

largely because of decreasing mortality from cardiovascular disease and

cancer, but is essentially unchanged for women. (5,6).

A growing body of literature suggests that women receive fewer therapies of

demonstrated effectiveness for a variety of conditions. Women with

end-stage renal disease are less likely to receive a kidney transplant

than men. (7) Women with coronary artery disease are less likely than men

to undergo cardiac catheterization and revascularization, (8,9) despite

their greater disability, and they are more likely to have their symptoms

attributed to psychiatric causes. (9) In contrast, men may be more likely

to be referred for unnecessary cardiac surgery than women. (10) Despite the

repeated documentation of sex differences in the provision of health care,

there is little information to pinpoint a cause. In one large study, after

control for clinical condition, health status, and daily responsibilities,

women were almost four times as likely as men to be prescribed bed rest;

this finding suggests that sex differences in illness-related behavior or

clinicians' attitudes account for the difference between the sexes. (11)

That women and men who undergo noninvasive exercise testing do not differ

in their willingness to seek a second opinion or to take medications to

avoid cardiac surgery suggests that the observed variation in the use of

cardiac procedures may not be related to differences in patients'

preferences with respect to care. (12) Women and men have unique medical

problems and health care needs. At a time when there have been improvements

in the health status of men, the health status of women does not appear to

be improving, (5,6) perhaps because of the long-held assumption that

disease patterns for women are the same as those for men. A greater

emphasis on prevention and treatment for women, particularly for conditions

that are not specific to their sex, is necessary, not only to prolong life,

but also to

postpone and diminish disability. The use of health care services and

expenditures for those services cannot by themselves be used to evaluate

access to care or the appropriateness of care. The health care needs of

women and men should not be defined and examined solely in relation to

reproductive function but, rather, should be viewed in terms of health

status, preferences for care, and documented evidence of the effectiveness

of therapy. Written by: Jennifer Haas, M.D. University of California San

Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143

Scientists, Celebrities Join Senator Boxer to Call for More Study into

Silicone Breast Implants and Disease: Boxer Legislation Urges NIH Research.

Calling for an end to the "junk science" wars, on Wednesday, June 10th

Senator Barbara Boxer introduced legislation urging the NIH to dramatically

expand research and to consider beginning the largest clinical effort to

date on the link between silicone breast implants and disease. "Many

implanted women have legitimate health complaints and it's time to get down

to the bottom of this problem for once and all," says Boxer. "Women need

adequate information to make informed choices and to get unbiased medical

treatment, especially cancer survivors who chose implants after surgery

only to suffer all over again."

Cancer survivor and activist Sybil Niden Goldrich, talk show host Jenny

Jones and Waltons' actress Mary McDonough joined Senator Boxer (D-CA). The

legislation will provide suggested guidelines to streamline government

activities on implants and improve FDA oversight of the current limited

clinical trials. Boxer was also joined by researchers. Dr. Robert Garry

is a Tulane University immunologist and microbiologist who discovered the

non-HIV AIDS virus HIAP. Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., trained in epidemiology

at Yale Medical School and is Director of Research and Policy Analysis at

the Institute for Women's Policy Research. Dr. Zuckerman initiated the

first congressional hearings on the safety of silicone breast implants.

Dr. Susan Kolb is a plastic surgeon who has removed the implants of scores

of sick women and had problems with her own breast implants which subsided

when they were removed. The Institute of Medicine says implants may break

and or leak at rates as high as 70%. In 1997 the Mayo Clinic found that

one in four women

require additional surgery because of their implants within five years of

receiving them. Last Spring an NIH panel of independent researchers

expressed concerns about implant safety and called for more research. Last

Fall both the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. FDA called for

additional research in separate peer-reviewed papers. Fenton

Communications, 202-822-5200

British plastic surgeons cannot keep up with the demand for an adjustable

tear-shaped silicone breast implant. The implant includes a small internal

sac that is filled with a saline solution during the operation, by means of

a tube hidden behind the silicone sac. The implant is in great demand by

women who have had mastectomies because it can be adjusted to match the

remaining breast. Dr. Adam Searl of Charing Cross Hospital in London

states that the implants are so strong that they would burst only if put

under the kind of pressure that would kill the patient. (Where have we

heard this before??) Only about 30 plastic surgeons in Britain are able to

perform the operation and many women in some parts of the country have had

to wait as long as a year for these implants. (Medical-Legal Aspects of

Breast Implants June, 1998.)

BOOKS: See attached list of books available from COSS.

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE: If you are still trying to get well using drugs and

prescriptions, call me for some alternatives. I avoided drugs and have

improved greatly. Many natural products can help you heal without side

effects!! Every drug is toxic and adds to your body' toxic load. Since we

are already toxic, this is a significant problem with prescription drugs.

You can brush this off for years, but it will catch up with you eventually.

THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS NEWSLETTER ARE THOSE OF THE EDITOR AND ANY

CONTRIBUTORS AND ARE NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. ANY

ARTICLES OR INFORMATION SUBMITTED MAY BE EDITED BECAUSE OF SPACE, CONTENT

OR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.

LYNDA ROTH, EDITOR

PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER INFORMATION: Previous issues of newsletters available:

$2 each U.S., $3 Foreign. 1/93 is the first available issue. Please

indicate months' desired and proper sums. Some covered subjects:

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Vasculitis 4/93; Arthritis 5/93; Chronic Fatigue 6/93; Lupus 7/93;

Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Inflammatory Bowel Disease 8/93; Insurance 8/93,

9/93; Misc. Med. Info. 9/93; Multiple Sclerosis 10/93; Spasmodic

Torticollis 10/93; Hypoglycemia 11/93; Antibodies 12/93; Reflex Sympathetic

Dystrophy 1/94; Misc. Med. Info. II 2/94; Scleroderma 3/94; Costochondritis

4/94; Peripheral Neuropathy 4/94; Class Action 5/94; Fungal Infections

6/94; Hypercalcemia (low calcium) 7/94; Raynaud's Phenomenon 8/94;

Fibromyalgia Update 9/94; Sarcoidosis 10/94; Free Radicals 11/94;

Porphyria 12/94; Interstitial Cystitis 1/95; Mixed Connective Tissue

Disease 2/95; Flap Procedures 3/95; Misc. Med. 4/95; Thyroid Disease 5/95;

Stress 6/95; Natural Healing 7/95; Adrenal Malfunction s 8/95; Multiple

Myeloma 9/95; DHEA 10/95; Chelation Therapy 11/95; Sleep Disorders 12/95;

Meniere's Disease 1/96; 33 Tips to Improve Your Health 2/96; Amino Acids

3/96; Enzymes 4/96; Minerals 5/96; Aluminum Toxicity, DHEA Update 6/96;

Addictions & Food Sensitivities 7/96; Misc. Med. Info. IV 8/96; Misc. Med.

Info. V 9/96; Misc. Med. Info. VI 10/96; Misc. Med. Info. VII 11/96;

Transcient Ischemic Attacks 12/96; Symptoms of Breast Implant Problems

1/97; Pap Tests 2/97; Parasitic Infections 3/97; B-Complex Deficiency

Syndrome 4/97; Myofascial Pain Syndrome 5/97; Inositol 6/97; Misc. Med.

Info. VIII 7/97; High Blood Pressure 8/97; Plaquenil 9/97; Misc. Med. Info.

IX 10/97; Misc. Med. Info. X 11/97; Gastroesophageal or acid reflux 12/97;

Smoking Dangers 1/98; Misc. Med XI 2/98; Multiple

Chemical Sensitivities 3/98; Misc. Med. XII 4/98; Misc. Med. XIII 5/98;

Baylor Studies 6/98; Legal info. and info. on Alternative Medicine Info.

contained in most issues.

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Check your mailing label for expiration

date. The date is right after your name. We are unable to notify you

individually of expiration dates. If your expiration date says June'98,

that is the last newsletter you will receive without a renewal.

Please return bottom portion with check or Money Order for renewal or

include the pertinent information with check or M.O. for $25.

COSS NEEDS YOUR HELP!! WITH ALL THE LEGAL PROBLEMS, DONATIONS ARE DOWN,

EXPENSES ARE STILL THE SAME!! PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!! WE DON'T WANT TO

QUIT HELPING OTHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

Check your mailing label for expiration date. The

date is right after your name. We are unable to notify

you individually of expiration dates. If your expiration

date says June 98, that is the last newsletter you will

receive without a renewal. We no longer take

MC/Visa!!!!

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW TO

KEEP US AFLOAT. IF WE HAVE

EVER HELPED YOU, PLEASE HELP

US WITH A GENEROUS DONATION !!!

Please return this portion with your subscription or renewal or include the pertinent data with your check or money order. We no longer take MC/Visa!

Name ___________________________________________

Annual Subscriptions: Individual ($25.00 U.S.-- $35.00 Foreign (U.S.Funds)________________________________________

Address__________________________________________

Phone_____________________________________________

FAX_______________________________________________

Prior newsletters-Month,Yr._______________________

Amount Enclosed (U.S. Funds)_______________________

Mail to: Coalition of Silicone Survivors (COSS) The Coalition of Silicone Survivors is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt corporation.

PO Box 129, Broomfield, Co. 80038-0129

C.O.S.S. 06/01/98

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