COALITION OF SILICONE SURVIVORS

November, 1994

Dear Silicone Survivors and Friends:

As you read this, I will be in Australia speaking at several meetings for breast implant survivors and for professionals there. I will return Nov. 22nd and will try like crazy to catch up after that.

UPCOMING EVENTS: There will not be a large group meeting in Colorado this month. The Boulder group will meet on Sunday, Nov. 13th, 2:00 P.M. Call Laura at 494-4879 for information. The Colorado Springs group will meet on Wed., Nov. 16. Call Ginger at 636-1492 for information. The Grand Junction group will meet for a potluck on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 6:30 P..M. at the American Lutheran Church. Call Marvyl at 242-4879 for information.

SING of San Diego is having a Medical Conference on Nov. 5th, 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. at Continental Rehabilitation Hospital, 555 Washington Street, San Diego, CA 92103. Speakers ar Dr. James Grisolia, Dr. Aristo Vojdani, and Dr. Rahim Karjoo. Cost is $10.00 which includes a continental breakfast and a hot lunch. Call (619) 484-8716 for more information.

Survivors of Silicone, Anonymous meets the 2nd and 4th Thurs. evenings, 6:30 P.M. at 3131 Groton Way, #2, San Diego.

S.I.A.S.T. of Shawnee Mission, KS will hold meetings on Nov. 14th and Dec. 12th. at Johnson County Christian Church, 10150 Antioch, Shawnee Mission, KS. Contact S.I.A.S.T. at (913) 381-7844 for more information.

A National Conference on breast implants will be held in Jacksonville, FL on Saturday, December 10th from 7:00 A.M. to 4:45 P.M. at the Marina Hotel and Conference Center Ballroom, 1515 Prudential Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32207. Cost is $65.00 for advance registration fee and $80.00 after November 15th. The hotel will accomodate 1-4 persons for $65.00 per night. Call them at (904) 396-5100. Speakers includ Nancy Hardt, MD, Pierre Blais, PhD, Andrew Campbell, MD, Aristo Vojdani, PhD, Rahim Karjoo, MD, Bernard Patten, MD, Britta Ostermeyer-Shoaib, MD, and Frank Vasey, MD. For more information on this conference contact Mary Lee Taylor (904) 725-5639 or Rhonda Garrett (904) 260-7849.

The conference in Boise is scheduled for Saturday, February 4, 1995. More soon.

LEGAL INFORMATION: On October 12th, Judge Ann Cochran estimated that 145,000 claims had been filed by mid September. She could not delineate just how many were registrations and how many were actual claims. The current estimate of time for women to find out any more information on categories and possible amounts estimated for settlement per woman in their projected category is January, 1995. This may be optimistic. The most recent information is that Judge Pointer will review the information in the Spring and then determine just how long this process will take. As we have been warning for a long time, don't spend your money before you get it. For information on claims, call (800) 887-6828.

According to PALS newsletter, Judge Pointer granted plaintiff's motion to reopen the issue of Dow Chemical's connection to the litigation. Additional depositions regarding Dow Chemical will be taken. COSS comment: IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

Appeals: As you may know, appeals of MDL-926 are underway, and these may take until late in 1995 or early 1996. No-one will receive a dime until appeals are settled. Judge Pointer severed the Australian and Canadian (Quebec- Ontario) cases because it would prevent an appeal from these plaintiffs. The women could, however, choose to rejoin, but could not then appeal the amounts given to foreign claimants. The New Zealand plaintiffs have appealed and other appeals may be pending.

BE AWARE that the class action states that a claimant shall qualify for a higher disease category "unless the claimant's symptoms more closely resemble those of Atypical Connective Tissue Disease, Atypical Rheumatic Disease, etc." This means that if you have a condition that has all the symptoms of one disease but your condition more closely resembles a lower category such as atypical connective disease, etc., you will probably be placed in the atypical disease category. If your disease has progressed so that it now resembles one disease to the exclusion of the others, then you may be diagnosable in that disease category. Just because you have all the symptoms of a disease doesn't mean you will end up in that category if your disease more closely falls into another category. They can really get you coming and going with this statement.

MEDICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Rahim Karjoo responds to the new breast implant craze with a press release: The Danger of Soy Bean Oil Implants: Subsequent to the August 1 announcement in the news media suggesting that soy bean oil is a safe and viable substance for implants, I have been swamped with phone calls from the victims of silicone implants. Everyone wants my opinion on the safety of this proposed alternative as they understandably hope that a miracle cure has been found and wondering if they should volunteer to test this new material and thereby become the victims, once again, of the big chemical companies. At the present, there are approximately 2 million women who are victims of silicone gel or saline implants. They are really sick at the expense of the considerable profits which have accrued to the manufacturers of these devices. The cost of treatment for their various illnesses will likely be borne by future taxpayers, and, most regrettably, medical science does not yet know what the ultimate impact of silicone poisoning will be on the future health of these victims.

I would opine that soy bean oil implants will prove to be even more hazardous than either silicone gel and saline devices for the following reasons: 1) Regardless of the matrix material, the implant's shell is always made of silicone and this is the first source of silicone migration and penetration into the body. 2) With an oil implant you would be adding a dangerous culture medium to the silicone shell, because an organic oil will support infectious growth even more quickly than silicone or saline solution. 3) It is well documented that oils in the body will absorb calcium and become soap- like. This reaction is typical whenever an oil is injected into the body. The patient is thus exposed to the risk that this calcified material will enter the bloodstream and create fat emboli, which can result in immediate death. 4) For corroboration of the effects of oils introduced into the body, you may want to ask an ear, nose and throat specialist about the incidence of a pneumonia-type condition which can result from the use of nasal sprays.

My suggestion to the media is that they should seek the opinion of the medical research community and the evaluation of this procedure by those who have some expertise in the field of medical prosthesis before publicizing a potentially hazardous, commercially lucrative, experimental procedure. The reason that I am sending you this information is because I am currently involved in the pathologic diagnosis of serious medical problems which are common to the many victims of silicone implants who are submitting specimens for analysis from across the continent. Daily, I see, graphically, the deleterious effects of silicone and saline implants on human physiology. In my opinion, the use of soy bean oil can only multiply these serious problems.

LABS: As you may know, there are a number of labs that are doing blood work that deals with silicone/saline implanted women and the resultant medical problems. Please be careful to use a reputable lab that really understands the issues. Many labs are on the bandwagon with expensive tests that we do not need. Examples of this are $200.00 tests to detect silicone antibodies or $350.00 tests to do the same, each exclaiming their virtues over the other. Stick with a lab that does all the needed tests for $340-350 unless you have special needs for further tests. We are vulnerable to exploitation and must be our own advocates in the testing procedures. This is the reason that we feel BALCO and Immunosciences Labs are the most reasonable and we know that they are ethical, have high integrity, and care about us as patients. We continue to hear from women whose MD's insist on doing their own lab tests and the costs run $800-1200. This is highway robbery.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: AN EXPLANATION OF FREE RADICALS: The following material comes from the book "Bypassing Bypass" by Dr. Elmer Cranton, MD and Arline Brecher.

Your body is composed of about 60 trillion cells, each enclosed within an encircling cell wall or membrane. Cells vary greatly in structure, as in function. Some have the ability to replace themselves if worn out, such as the skin, the lining of the intestinal tract, and the blood cells. Others, such as the brain, nerves, and muscles (including the heart) are made up of non-dividing cells that, once worn out, cannot renew themselves. Nonrenewable cells, over time, become increasingly damaged while performing their prescribed activities: They age, they die, and they clog tissues and organs and biochemical pathways as cellular "rubbish". When your cells become inefficient, so do you. When enough cells die, we die. How do cells become sick and die? They succumb to free radical attack.

A free radical is an oxygen molecule with an odd number of electrons in the orbital ring of one of its atoms. Molecules (and atoms) normally contain an even number of paired electrons. Free radicals differ from all other molecules, ions, and molecular complexes in having an unpaired electron in their structure. This is a distinction that has enormous significance. If one of the electrons in a pair becomes separated, an imbalance is created. That imbalance makes the resulting molecule (or atom) promiscuously unstable, violently reactive, and very destructive, ready to aggressively attack any nearby substance, setting off further free radical reactions with explosive cell destroying power. What the free radicals actually do is combine with and react chemically with other molecules that were never meant to be interfered with. Just as outside of us oxygen produces rust on metal surfaces so inside of us, unbalanced oxygen molecules "rust" the body.

Free radicals are continuously generated as a result of many essential chemical reactions that occur naturally in the body. These reactions are necessary for life as part of the normal metabolic process. They are a byproduct of the normal use of oxygen, needed to burn fuel (food) and generate energy, and are produced in large numbers in the mitochondria, the cell's complex "oxygen reactor" or power plant. Free radicals are also generated in the endoplasmic reticulum (detoxification compartment) of liver cells, in white blood cells, and in other locations. At the same time that oxygen and food are processed in the mitochondria to generate the cell's energy requirements, a flux of free radicals is released. These raiders head for the nearest target--the fatty acids within the mitochondrial membranes--converting them into dangerous peroxydized fats, which in turn, produce even more free radicals. Uncontrolled, these free radicals can wreak havoc. They are deadly marauders that damage cells by breaking down delicate cell walls, by damaging important protein enzymes, and by ravaging the sensitive structures of the mitochondrion so that it is no longer an efficient energy producer. Free radicals have a life-span of micro-seconds and their concentration in any site for any moment is minuscule, but they will attack anything in their vicinity with amazing speed. There is absolutely no way to escape ongoing exposure. Even before the nuclear age, man was constantly subjected to radiation. One quart of ordinary air on a sunny day contains about 1 billion free radicals of a highly dangerous form of ozone. Radiation from the sun and stars continually filters through the atmosphere, subjecting our bodies to free radical exposure. Contrary to what most people believe, it is not this external radiation that is most worrisome. We have more damage from our own normally produced internal free radicals than by those from any radiation escaping from nuclear plants or other sources. We are all subjected to continuous internal radiation from highly reactive free radical molecules that are regularly produced within human cells in the normal course of daily life as a consequence of just eating and breathing.

So now you say, how do we survive all these attacks by free radicals? As you may have suspected, nature has provided us with exquisitely designed survival equipment. Every cell that deals with oxygen is equipped with an anti-oxidant defense system that can quickly and efficiently scavenge and inactivate most free radicals generated normally in the body. In a healthy body, free radical reactions are controlled but still allowed to proceed in an orderly fashion as needed for energy production and for detoxification of chemicals, germs, and foreign substances. Several enzymes (including Catalase, Superoxide Dismutase, and Glutathione Peroxdage in cooperation with other anti-oxidants) keep free radicals from running wild. When functioning properly, these enzymes, in concert with an elaborate system of natural free radical scavengers (including the anti-oxidant vitamins C and E) dampen free radical chemical reactions, thus allowing the desired biological effect without unwanted cellular or molecular damage. Without these controls, however, there is unrestrained free radical production. Much like a nuclear chain reaction when out of control free radicals are generated at an ever increasing rate. When that happens, they disrupt cell membranes, damage essential enzymatic proteins, interfere with transport across cell membranes, and cause mutagenic damage to the genes and chromosomes. All these activities produce sick--or even malignant--cells. The damage is cumulative and progressive. If the rate of free radical production proceeds unchecked, eventually the body's natural defenses are overwhelmed. The resulting cell destruction, malignant mutation, and damage to enzymes lead to the whole spectrum of circulatory, malignant, inflammatory, and immunologic disorders that cause the vast majority of age- related illnesses. The link between free radical activity and malignant change was recognized decades ago and is the basis for much anticancer research. The latest work of experimental pathologists suggests the major chronic diseases of western civilization--including cancer, arthritis, atherosclerosis, and related circulatory disorders--may actually be a form of radiation sickness, the result of continuous internal reactions analogous to those produced by nuclear radiation. This damage can be prevented by adequate anti-oxidant protection from free radicals.

Free radicals in blood vessels cause mutation of normal cells to atheroma cells (cells that are benignly tumorous) and promote spasm and clot or thrombosis. Free radicals block production of the hormone prostcyclin, allowing unopposed activity of another hormone, thromboxane, which caused spasm and blood clots in arteries. Red blood cells are trapped in the process. They rupture and release free copper and iron, both potent catalysts of lipid (fat) peroxidation that increase the rate of the reaction by a million fold. Also, free radical damage to the cell wall creates "leaks" allowing calcium to seep in and magnesium to seep out. A healthy cell wall is quite impermeable to these metal ions. The more calcium leaks into a cell, the more poisoned its metabolism becomes, and eventually crystalline deposits form inside the cell, causing it to die. The more cells that die, the fewer are left to keep the basic life processes going. Once free radical production exceeds the body's threshold to protect itself, metabolic breakdown, cellular damage, and tissue calcification all take place more rapidly, even exponentially. It now appears that calcium deposition is just another link in the chain of cause and effect created by free radical damage. Our biological time clock, which begins ticking at birth, seems to run at a speed determined by our body's efficiency in taking command of free radical chemical reactions. Reduced defenses against destructive free radical activity accelerate the aging process. Studies show that those mammals with the longest life spans have the highest relative levels of SOD (Superoxide Dismutase), an anti- oxidant enzyme produced within the body.

Identifying Free Radicals: Free radicals are highly unstable. They react rapidly in living tissues and therefore have a low steady state of concentration. They rarely reach levels sufficient for direct analysis. Newly developed instruments have revealed the importance and extent of free radical damage in tissues. It is now possible to detect the presence of free radicals using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (EPR). However, their effects can be measured more precisely by analyzing the end product of free-radical reactions, using gas chromatography. Cross linkages, damaged collagen, lipid peroxides, oxyarachidonate, oxidized cholesterol, mucopolysaccharide breakdown products, lipofusion, ceroid and increased melanin all result from undesirable free radical reactions and can be readily quantitated (counted or identified). By sifting through molecular wreckage left in the wake of free radicals, it is possible to determine the type and extent of ongoing free radical reactions. For example, free radicals in the Central Nervous System (CNS) can be assessed by the rate of disappearance of cholesterol. Cholesterol has no degradation enzyme in the CNS. The only way for cholesterol to diminish in the CNS is through auto-oxidation caused by free radicals.

Oxygen Toxicity: Ongoing free radical pathology is often referred to as oxidative stress. A liter of normal atmospheric air on a sunny day contains over 1 billion hydroxyl free radicals. Oxygen at normal physiologic concentrations neutralizes more free radicals than it produces. When oxygen tension is reduced, as occurs in an ischemic organ, oxygen becomes a net contributor to free radical damage. Yet, without oxygen, life could not proceed. Oxygen in high concentrations for prolonged periods of time can cause severe toxicity and death, primarily by free radical damage to the lungs and brains. Under proper conditions, intermittent high pressure oxygen administered for short periods in a Hyperbaric chamber (HBO) can stimulate repair of free radical damage and cause an adaptive increase of superoxide dismutase.

Treatment and Prevention of Free Radical Pathology: The development of cancer and other diseases often takes decades from the initiating event to the onset of the symptoms. If cancer promoting factors are removed, free radical damage can be repaired and health can be restored by applied clinical nutrition and life-style corrections. Malignant cells in their early stages are able to undergo reverse transformation to a normal state. For example, smokers who stop the use of tobacco have the same risk of cancer ten years later as those who never smoked. Atherosclerosis involves a non-malignant tumor, an atheroma, somewhat analogous to cancer. Free radical pathology is the common denominator. Atherosclerosis should also regress with time if causative factors are corrected. If we can repair our bodies from these diseases by stopping the damage from free radicals, can you imagine what we could do to reverse the damage done by silicone and the other toxic chemicals found in breast implants.

Now, I know that many of you must be asking why I have placed such a long explanation of free radicals in the newsletter. A product called Pycogenol is thought to be the best free radical scavenger available in the world. Perhaps not inexpensive, but if it can help heal our bodies from some of the damage done, it could be worth its weight in gold. We continue to hear from women who have tried it for several weeks and found that they feel better than they have in years. Pycogenol is a water-soluble extract from the Maritime Pine Tree. It contains approximately 40 water-soluble components, many of them organic acids, with useful nutritional properties. Pycogenol has been taken in Europe under medical supervision for decades with no reports of adverse effects. It has been tested by reputed medical institutes for safety. It has been found to be non-toxic, nonteratogenic, nonmutagenic, noncarcinogenic and nonantigenic. Dosage recommended is 100 to 150 milligrams of Pycogenol daily for one to several weeks, then lower to 50 milligrams per day. Pycogenol is absorbed into the bloodstream in about 20 minutes and the maximum protective effect lasts about 72 hours. For optimal protection against free radicals, Pycogenol should be taken daily.

L-Carnatine is helpful in the conversion of fat to energy.

L-Salivarius can help correct the bacterial imbalances in your intestinal tract. There are friendly organisms as well as detrimental ones in our digestive system. For information on this and other products such as milk thistle, contact Mary Ratcliff, P.O. Box 687, Osburn, ID 83849 (208) 556- 7951.

For Metagenics products such as FibroPlex and for Ultra-Clear products (detox), contact Carol Ann Young, 342 Northridge Dr., Florence, OR 97439 or call (503) 997-9260.

I am receiving information on so many products that I am months behind in my attempts to try to mention them or cover information on them in this newsletter. We will continue our efforts to share information on products women have found helpful.

IMPORTANT: If you want to know the exact content of your breast implant(s), send a certified letter with return receipt to the manufacturer(s) requesting the Material Safety Data Sheet. To do this, you must, of course, know the manufacturer, brand, and lot number.

BOOKS: Surgery Electives: What to Know Before the Doctor Operates: A Guide for Those Considering Elective Surgery, by John McCabe. Order by calling (800) 286-7323. $14.95 plus $1.80 shipping and handling. (CA residents, $1.24 sales tax) You may send check or money order to Carmania Books, P.O. Box 1272, Santa Monica, CA 90406-1272.

Patient No More: The Politics of Breast Cancer, by Sharon Batt. $19.95 Canada, $16.95 US. Gynergy Books, P.O. Box 2023, Charlottetown, P.E.I., C1A 7N7, or contact Inga Petri, Marketing Manager (902) 566-5750 or (902) 566- 4473.

INFORMATION AVAILABLE: For a free packet on breast implants from the FDA, call 1 (800) 638-6725 (U.S. Pharmacopeia) and listen to the information until they refer you to the FDA Breast Implant line, then follow directions from the FDA to give them your name and address. They will send you a packet and a problem reporting form. This information is confidential. Please return that form, as the problems with saline and silicone breast implants are grossly under-reported.

GUIDELINES FOR GROUP LEADERS: 1) We are not perfect. Don't expect to be perfect, and let your group members know that you cannot be perfect. 2) Be patient! Patience is a virtue. Many members have cognitive disorders and have many problems with memory and ability to understand. Some have emotional problems that may have been present before implants but are exaggerated by the toxicity of the brain. You can be firm as well as gentle. 3) Practice what you preach. 4) Be flexible. Rigidity turns people away. Try to make the group meet members needs in every way you can. Focus on the needs of the group, not the leader. Always remember that we have many members who have cognitive problems. Give them plenty of time to ask questions, peruse literature, and receive support. 5) Be non-judgmental, non-critical, and accept members unconditionally. This does not mean to let people abuse you, but it does mean that you need to have a high tolerance level. 6) Take suggestions about improvement for the group seriously. Many people have skills that can help the group become better. One person does not have all the knowledge and skills that any group needs to grow and flourish. 7) Watch the rumor mill! It is running amok! Check sources and recheck information. Passing on rumors can be harmful. 8) Moderation is the key. Don't kill yourself trying to help others. You will burn out and then will not be able to help. 9) Get support for yourself. We support many other women and their families and we must also allow ourselves to have support for all we go through, not only with the group but with our silicone disease. 10) Delegate, delegate, delegate! Don't try to do everything yourself. Also don't expect very sick women to always be as motivated as you are. Try to find helpers that can each do a little and if you find some that can do a lot, celebrate. They are few and far between. 11) Expect little from most group members, because that is what you will get. This is not a criticism. Many are not able, for many reasons, to be as involved as we are. 12) Be genuine. Most people can spot a phoney a mile away. Be honest with members and other leaders. 13) Be ethical. This includes with members, doctors, lawyers, and with the business dealings of the group. 14) Treat all people with dignity and with diplomacy and tact. It does not necessarily come easily for all of us, but these traits can be cultivated. 15) Don't give literature away free. Members come to expect it and you will go in the hole very rapidly. I speak from experience. 16) Respect confidentiality. Many women want to keep their experiences with implants private. When you send mail, be sure that there is nothing on the outside that can identify it as related to breast implants or silicone. 17) Try to only give accurate information to the media. Check and recheck. Talk to other leaders to check accuracy, as well as checking with your attorney. It is important for our credibility that information is accurate, well-presented, and presented with calm demeanor (Avoid anger, blaming, and criticism. Just present the facts.) 18) If you have a guest speaker, treat that guest speaker with respect and dignity. Don't interrupt or butt in with you own comments unless absolutely necessary. Remember, your group can listen to you all the time, they don't have that option with a guest speaker. 19) Be a peacemaker. If others are spreading rumors about you or about others, try to give them another perspective. Avoid being in the middle of a conflict. Talk to both sides for accuracy if you must be involved. We are all in this together. 20) Every leader is expendable. The cause will outlive all of our leadership. Understand that it is the cause that is most important, not who is leading today. I certainly plan to be expendable at some point in the future. 21) The torch will pass from leader to leader. Be supportive of those who follow you. I have heard of group leaders that withhold files and even mailing lists. This is unethical and unthinkable. The group is for the women, not the leaders. 22) Network with other group leaders. Unity is important. 23) Never, ever, ever criticize another group leader or national figure in public. If you have issues, direct them to that person in private. It makes you look bad when you engage in public criticism and it harms all of us when this occurs. 24) If you have a board of directors, clear expenditures with them prior to utilizing funds. This is important for the cohesiveness of the group. 25) Write up information in a format that can be understood by brain-damaged women. Remember that many of us have extreme difficulty focusing on anything. Don't skip from column to column and continue articles on another page with intervening articles like newspapers do. It is simply too confusing for many readers. Keep it simple. 26) Try to have a sense of humor. This will go a long way toward helping others keep this disease in perspective. 27) Always try to end meetings on a positive note. One former group leader shared this outlook: End each meeting with the three H's, Hugs, Hope and Humor.

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION: Any woman who feels that she has breast cancer because of silicone breast implants, please call or write Carolyn Walton, 1569 Ocean Ave., Apt 1I, Brooklyn, NY 11230 (718) 252-5284.

For Colorado subscribers, Roxann Berge (a B.I. survivor), Mountain Insurance Agency, can help you with the new health insurance laws. Call her at (303) 744-2281.

Colorado or surrounding area: Anyone who had breast implant surgery, bilateral reduction mammoplasty or related surgery by Dr. Thomas W. Fawell, please contact Barbara Stube, 1017 S. Birch St., Apt. 308B, Denver, Co 80222 or call (303) 759-3332.

If you have had a positive experience with a Naturopath or Holistic Doctor in your efforts to detox from silicone poisoning, especially in the Philadelphia, New York, or New Jersey, but also other areas, please contact Shelli Rosenthal, 2642 Barry Lane, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 or call (215) 947-8752 or (215) 947-5076.

Social Security Information: If you responded to the review that we mentioned in a previous newsletter, please don't send any more information. It was intended as a review for a sampling of cases and did not intend to take the place of filing a claim or avoiding an appeal of a denied claim. Please do not send any additional information or names to be included in the review. This request comes from Lynn Lynch of Savannah, GA. and Russ Waller of the Social Security Administration.

A LITTLE HUMOR: Vocabulary to help you understand your doctor: 1) Artery: The study of fine paintings. 2) Barium: What you do when CPR fails. 3) Cesarean section: A district in Rome. 4) Colic: A sheepdog. 5) Coma: A punctuation mark. 6) Congenital: Friendly. 7) Dilate: To live longer. 8) Fester: Quicker. 9) G.I. Series: Baseball games between teams of soldiers. 10) Grippe: A suitcase. 11) Hangnail: A coat hook. 12) Medical staff: A doctor's cane. 13) Minor operation: Coal digging. 14) Morbid: A higher offer. 15) Nitrate: Lower than the day rate. 16) Node: Was aware of. 17) Organic: Musical. 18) Outpatient: A person who has fainted. 19) Post- operative: A letter carrier. 20) Protein: In favor of young people. 21) Secretion: Hiding anything. 22) Serology: Study of English knighthood. 23) Tablet: A small table. 24) Tumor: An extra pair. 25) Urine: Opposite of you're out. 26) Varicose veins: Veins not far apart.

Long-distance friendships are like big boobs. As time goes by they're harder to keep up.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here 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.

COPYRIGHT: Our purpose is to disseminate information and provide support. This material is copyrighted so that we may retain control over content. You may reproduce this document as long as it is not done for profit and as long as no material, including copyright and subscription information, is changed.

DONATIONS: The Coalition of Silicone Survivors is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt corporation with over 4000 members world wide. Our editor, Lynda Roth, is a survivor having heard the dread word 'cancer' followed by the reassuring 'will look like a normal breast'. In addition to having helped start many support groups, Lynda has appeared before the FDA, congress members, national TV in the US and other countries and lectures internationally. Your donation will definitely help others receive information about the dangers of implants. IF READING THIS NEWSLETTER HAS HELPED YOU, AND YOU THINK OTHERS SHOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO RECEIVE OUR MESSAGE, WE URGE YOU TO GIVE GENEROUSLY. Donations are tax deductible in the United States. Yes, I want to help

As a member you will receive a highly informative information packet and this newsletter, including the CURRENT ISSUE for the next 12 months. Remember in the US it's tax deductible. Your help is critical.

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