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My name is Denysha. My sisters, Jahlysa and Andi, and I are starting this campaign to help our mom, Denyse. After a recent emergency room visit and a chat with the opted plastic surgeon, we decided our mother’s life is worth more to us than family pride. So, here we are, we need help. For the past decade our mom has suffered from unexplained illnesses that we knew nothing about until I suggested she seek medical alternatives this past year. It was when she mentioned someone in the family had joked about her breast implants being her issue that a lightbulb immediately came on. It made perfect sense and my intuition said this was it. A few Google searches and we fell into all the answers that explained her unraveling health issues. It was Breast Implant Illness (BII), a debilitating illness that wreaks havoc on a person’s autoimmune system and ultimately causes the body to respond unkindly. It can even lead to Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a non-Hodgkin’s type lymphoma that affects the immune system, entire body and can even lead to death. No matter how many doctors’ visits she’s had to be poked, prodded and screened, or how many prescriptions have been thrown at her to address a symptom, nothing has healed her. She has been a walking mystery and often left to believe it is all in her head. Frankly, the implants are slowly killing her.
Due to the Pandemic, I have been living with her and have been able to see, firsthand, the impact it was having on her life, day to day. Although these symptoms have been ongoing since 2008, they’ve recently seemed to unfurl like waves, one after the other, bigger and bigger. May of 2020 to present day has shown a rapid decline of her health with significant weight loss, rapid aging, increased pain, and an inability to keep up with simple tasks. Each day is proving harder for her to get out of bed, but the show must go on and the bills have to be paid, she said. There’s a list that is upwards of 50 common symptoms for BII sufferers; hers including chronic fatigue, severe joint and muscle pain, memory loss, brain fog, hair loss, anxiety, skin rashes, swollen and sensitive lymph nodes, depression, dry eyes and mouth, GI issues, severe headaches, vertigo, shortness of breath (which was diagnosed as asthma), neurological symptoms, an exorbitant list of food intolerances, and the list goes on.
Here’s the thing, BII is not a recognized medical diagnosis and it is not acknowledged, although known about by few, in the medical industry because there is limited research about it. The only way to help the body heal is by explant surgery, a removal of the breast implants. In addition, it is next to impossible for women to get their insurance policies to cover the procedure to remove the implants unless it can be proven medically necessary, i.e., implant rupture or severe contracture. Autoimmune diseases are not considered a medical necessity. So, after talking to the insurance company and requesting a meeting with the surgeon to understand why he no longer accepts insurance (a near bankruptcy of his practice), it became clear that insurance was not going to be our guiding star. Did you know that medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States? That’s right. Thirteen years our mother has seen doctors, had prescriptions prescribed, tests ran and procedures to fix what’s broken, and to no avail, and only now figuring out the cause of her illnesses. Cost upon cost upon cost. Not once did a medical professional suggest she have the implants removed. It costs more to have the procedure to remove the implants than it does to have them put in. That is how much damage is created to the body from implants. It should not be this complicated to get the help you need when your health and livelihood depend upon it.
The explant surgery to remove the implants is called an En Bloc/ Total Capsulectomy. This involves removal of the implants and the scar tissue that forms around the implant. After the procedure, the implants will be sent to pathology for bacterial and fungal analysis to evaluate for implant-related inflammation. The capsule will also be sent for testing to rule out BIA-ALCL, or other potential malignancies, like breast cancer. Recovery time varies by patient and may lead up to four weeks, but everyone’s body responds differently. Those with autoimmune disorders are known to require longer recovery periods. Over the course of several weeks and months, possibly a couple of years, the body will begin to detox in cycles the years of toxicity from the implants. As you can see the need for the procedure is urgent. We hope to cover the procedure and medical fees, recovery time away from work, and supplemental life changes that will be required for healing in the months ahead from the funds we raise.
If you’ve made it this far, our sincerest thanks for taking the time to read our story and for considering helping our mom (her grandbabies thank you, too). Our biggest hope and prayer is for her healing, to end her suffering and to see her return fully to her thriving self. Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
Here are a few resources if you are interested to learn more about BII:
https://thehealisreal.org/pages/bll
https://drbrighten.com/breast-implant-illness/
http://breastimplantinfo.org/what-if-i-need-to-get-my-implants-removed/
Due to the Pandemic, I have been living with her and have been able to see, firsthand, the impact it was having on her life, day to day. Although these symptoms have been ongoing since 2008, they’ve recently seemed to unfurl like waves, one after the other, bigger and bigger. May of 2020 to present day has shown a rapid decline of her health with significant weight loss, rapid aging, increased pain, and an inability to keep up with simple tasks. Each day is proving harder for her to get out of bed, but the show must go on and the bills have to be paid, she said. There’s a list that is upwards of 50 common symptoms for BII sufferers; hers including chronic fatigue, severe joint and muscle pain, memory loss, brain fog, hair loss, anxiety, skin rashes, swollen and sensitive lymph nodes, depression, dry eyes and mouth, GI issues, severe headaches, vertigo, shortness of breath (which was diagnosed as asthma), neurological symptoms, an exorbitant list of food intolerances, and the list goes on.
Here’s the thing, BII is not a recognized medical diagnosis and it is not acknowledged, although known about by few, in the medical industry because there is limited research about it. The only way to help the body heal is by explant surgery, a removal of the breast implants. In addition, it is next to impossible for women to get their insurance policies to cover the procedure to remove the implants unless it can be proven medically necessary, i.e., implant rupture or severe contracture. Autoimmune diseases are not considered a medical necessity. So, after talking to the insurance company and requesting a meeting with the surgeon to understand why he no longer accepts insurance (a near bankruptcy of his practice), it became clear that insurance was not going to be our guiding star. Did you know that medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States? That’s right. Thirteen years our mother has seen doctors, had prescriptions prescribed, tests ran and procedures to fix what’s broken, and to no avail, and only now figuring out the cause of her illnesses. Cost upon cost upon cost. Not once did a medical professional suggest she have the implants removed. It costs more to have the procedure to remove the implants than it does to have them put in. That is how much damage is created to the body from implants. It should not be this complicated to get the help you need when your health and livelihood depend upon it.
The explant surgery to remove the implants is called an En Bloc/ Total Capsulectomy. This involves removal of the implants and the scar tissue that forms around the implant. After the procedure, the implants will be sent to pathology for bacterial and fungal analysis to evaluate for implant-related inflammation. The capsule will also be sent for testing to rule out BIA-ALCL, or other potential malignancies, like breast cancer. Recovery time varies by patient and may lead up to four weeks, but everyone’s body responds differently. Those with autoimmune disorders are known to require longer recovery periods. Over the course of several weeks and months, possibly a couple of years, the body will begin to detox in cycles the years of toxicity from the implants. As you can see the need for the procedure is urgent. We hope to cover the procedure and medical fees, recovery time away from work, and supplemental life changes that will be required for healing in the months ahead from the funds we raise.
If you’ve made it this far, our sincerest thanks for taking the time to read our story and for considering helping our mom (her grandbabies thank you, too). Our biggest hope and prayer is for her healing, to end her suffering and to see her return fully to her thriving self. Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
Here are a few resources if you are interested to learn more about BII:
https://thehealisreal.org/pages/bll
https://drbrighten.com/breast-implant-illness/
http://breastimplantinfo.org/what-if-i-need-to-get-my-implants-removed/