Silicone Implants Make No Significant Difference To Breast Cancer Survivors

A report by the National Research Center (NRC) for Women & Families says that breast cancer survivors who undergo reconstructive surgery with silicone implants have very little information available to them regarding the possible risks and complications about the procedure. The report was released at a National Press Club Newsmakers' event by Dr. Susan Wood, former director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Women.

) The report titled Decisions in the Dark: The FDA, Breast Cancer Survivors, and Silicone Implants, says that breast cancer survivors experience more complications than normal patients with these implants and need to be informed about them before undergoing the procedure. Additionally, the report also cites the FDA findings in saying that these implants interfere with mammography and biopsy procedures and thus limit the detection for relapse. It was also found that many companies like Implant and Mentor Corporation did not include a sizeable number of breast cancer patients in their trials. Also women with reconstruction were not happier than women without, leading to questions over the procedure. "For a woman to survive breast cancer and then find herself facing additional surgeries because of a poorly tested product is terribly unfair," observed Dr. Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Research Center for Women & Families, and author of the report. "It's critical that implant manufacturers include breast cancer survivors in their research, and that they carefully test for any adverse health impacts that occur over the lifetime of these devices." For more information, visit National Research Center (NRC) for Women & Families www.center4research.org