TESTIMONY Of LINDA PANKHURST

THIS IS MY STORY:

17 YRS AGO I WAS IMPLANTED WITH SALINE IMPLANTS WHICH DEFLATED A MONTH LATER. I INSISTED THAT THESE BE REPLACED WITH SILICONE GEL BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT THE RISK OF THEM DEFLATING AGAIN.

NO ONE EXPLAINED THE DANGERS OF EITHER SALINE OR SILICONE AND I WAS COMPLETELY INNOCENT AT THAT STAGE. WE DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TODAY, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTH AFRICA, WHERE I BELIEVE THE TRUTH COULD BE HIDDEN MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN IN ANY OTHER FIRST WORLD COUNTRY.

I HAVE ALWAYS PRIDED MYSELF AS AN EXTREMELY FIT AND HEALTHY PERSON. HOWEVER, MY HEALTH STARTED TO DETERIORATE ABOUT A YEAR AFTER IMPLANTING WITH SILICONE. AT THAT TIME I DID NOT MAKE ANY CONNECTION TO THE IMPLANTS.

OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT 15 YEARS, I VISITED DOCTORS AND SKIN SPECIALISTS BECAUSE I WAS DEALING WITH CHRONIC URTICARIA AND CANDIDA ALBICANS AMONG OTHER THINGS. EVENTUALLY AFTER TREATING SYMPTOMS ONLY FOR MANY YEARS, I BEGAN TO SEEK THE ASSISTANCE OF NATUROPATHS. THIS IS WHERE I DISCOVERED THAT I HAD HEAVY METALS IN MY SYSTEM (STOOL TESTS DONE). I BEGAN A SERIES OF DETOXIFICATION PROGRAMS SUCH AS LIVER FLUSHES, FRUIT DIETS, COLON CLEANSING ETC. ALL THIS TIME I UNFORTUNATELY HAD TO CONTINUE WITH ANTI-HISTAMINE (CELESTAMINE & ZYRTEC) BECAUSE THIS CONDITION BECAME LIFE THREATENING.

I PERSEVERED WITH THE SILICONE IMPLANTS EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ROCK HARD AND DESPITE MY GROWING FEELINGS THAT THERE COULD BE A CONNECTION BETWEEN MY ILL HEALTH AND THE IMPLANTS. I WAS SUFFERING FROM EXTREME FATIGUE AT THIS TIME AS WELL AND ATTRIBUTED THIS TO THE STRESS OF GOING THROUGH AN ACADEMIC DEGREE.

IT WAS 18 MONTHS AGO WHEN I TOOK THE ADVICE OF A PLASTIC SURGEON TO HAVE THESE "ROCK IN A SOCK" IMPLANTS REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH THE LATEST SILICONE TEXTURED IMPLANTS. I WAS ASSURED THAT TECHNOLOGY HAD IMPROVED VASTLY OVER THE PAST 16 YRS AND THAT PROCEDURES HAD CHANGED AS WELL AS THE EXPERTISE IN PERFORMING THE PROCEDURE. AGAIN I WAS NOT GIVEN AN HONEST STORY ABOUT THE DANGERS OF SILICONE AND WAS ASSURED THAT ONLY A MINUTE PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM AND THAT I MAY BE ONE OF THE SENSITIVE ONES.

I WAS ALSO ASSURED THAT THE CHANCES OF THIS OCCURRING NOW WERE VERY REMOTE BECAUSE OF THE ADVANCEMENTS MADE WITH IMPLANTS OVER THE YEARS. I THEN COMMITTED TO HAVING THE NEW IMPLANTS.

MY BREASTS BEGAN TO HARDEN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. I WAS ADVISED TO MASSAGE THEM TWICE DAILY WHICH I FOLLOWED RELIGIOUSLY FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT I COULD LIVE WITH THIS HARDNESS BECAUSE IT WAS NOT THAT BAD. AS SOON AS I SLOWED DOWN WITH THE DAILY MASSAGES, MY BREASTS BEGAN TO HARDEN AGAIN. BY THIS TIME, I WAS ALSO DEALING WITH EXTREME FATIGUE AND MUSCLE AND JOINT PAINS. THIS WENT ON FOR MONTHS BEFORE MY HEALTH TOOK A TURN FOR THE WORSE. THE MUSCLE AND JOINT PAINS BECAME MORE FREQUENT AND MORE SEVERE AS WELL AS MY LEFT BREAST PAINING, SWELLING AND BECOMING RED AND HOT. I HAD AN ULTRASOUND DONE WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT I HAD A RUPTURE. MY PLASTIC SURGEON DID NOT BELIEVE ME WHEN I REPORTED THIS BECAUSE I HAD ONLY HAD THEM IN FOR A YEAR. HE IS FROM ANOTHER CITY SO I WENT AHEAD AND HAD TWO INDEPENDENT PLASTIC SURGEONS EXAMINE ME. AGAIN THEY BOTH REPORTED RUPTURE LIKE SYMPTOMS.

I THEN HAD A MAMMOGRAM DONE AND THE REPORT WAS "RUPTURE". WHEN I REPORTED MY FINDINGS, TO MY PS OVER THE 'PHONE, I WAS TOLD THAT THESE REPORTS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE INACCURATE. A FEW WEEKS LATER (EARLY FEBRUARY THIS YEAR) I SCHEDULED TO HAVE THE IMPLANTS REMOVED. MY PLASTIC SURGEON WAS PLEASED TO RETURN "MY IMPLANTS" TO ME AND SAID "SEE THEY ARE IN TACT". BE THIS AS IT MAY...

I WILL NEVER LOOK BACK ON MY DECISION TO EXPLANT. MY HEALTH CONTINUES TO IMPROVE WITH EVERY DETOXIFICATION PROGRAMS THAT I FOLLOW. I AM STILL SUFFERING WITH CHRONIC CONSTIPATION AND CANDIDA AS WELL AS NUMBNESS IN MY FEET AND TOES WHICH MANIFESTS AS PAIN DURING STRETCHING EXERCISES. I AM DETERMINED NOT BE A VICTIM AND I CONSIDER MYSELF ONE OF THE LUCKIER ONES HEALTH-WISE.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE MOST TO SEE NOW IS GROWING AWARENESS OF THE DANGERS OF SILICONE ESPECIALLY AMONGST THE PEOPLE WHO COUNT SUCH AS THE MANUFACTURERS, DOCTORS, PLASTIC SURGEONS, GOVERNING BODIES AND THE GOVERNMENTS WORLD WIDE.

LINDA PANKHURST (SOUTH AFRICA)