No Correlation Between Implants and Breast Cancer

Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed Under Breast Implants, In the News | Leave a Comment

An Orlando, Florida plastic surgeon wrote on the status of modern breast cancer treatments and the efforts of the medical community to minimize adverse effects through reconstruction and informed prevention.

Dr. Richard Bosshardt writes that social recognition of the breast is an ancient phenomenon and many throughout history have viewed them as symbolic of “femininity and desirability.”  Given this observation, it is easy to understand how the possibility of breast removal or disfigurement can be almost as frightening as the cancer itself.

Most women know how to focus on prevention and are aware of the statistics, but many aren’t informed about the more optimistic developments on the horizon.  Information shared by Dr. Bosshardt in the Orlando Sentinel suggests that family ‘genetic markers’ have become excellent risk indicators, narrowing the search for a definite cause.  Also, he notes that breast implants, bras and high-fat diets have not been shown to have any correlation with breast cancer risk.

Doctors have also begun practicing “breast conservation” rather than outright removal. Reconstruction has become more sophisticated than ever, with patients often looking better as an end result.  The Orlando Sentinel article can be viewed here.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/health/orl-lmed1208oct12,0,250718.story

Anti Aging: An Ethical Dilemma?

Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed Under In the News | Leave a Comment


In New York last summer, at the historic Chautauqua Institution, Bio-ethicist Art Caplan presented a lecture on long life, cosmetic enhancement and how stem cell technology could actually combine both those fields.

Caplan argues for the moral permissibility of enhancement by refuting the arguments of a group he calls “new puritans,” who object to medical advancements on several different grounds. Persons who hold this puritanical view often disapprove of cosmetic treatments.  One person in his audience had spoken of a family member getting a facelift, and a younger woman responded with harsh criticism saying, “that’s terrible.  It’s unbelievable that you would do that, you should simply accept the changes as they come.”

By systematically dismissing each of these objections, Caplan presents his own argument in favor of true anti-aging, based on a theory that we could double the life-span of a human by applying the regenerative properties of stem cells to every part of the body.

In a nutshell, Caplan’s argument for embryonic stem cell research and enhancement is this:  We’ve already doubled our lifespan since ancient times.  There is no “natural order of things” when it comes to how long we should exist or how good we should look during that time.  Stem cell technology need not come from new sources, but embryos that we already use for other purposes. 

What we use to repair disease, we can also use to enhance.  There can be whole body rejuvenation, including the mind, with the help of this technology.  Skin, organs, hair and everything in between can be enhanced with regenerative cells.  Similar things have successfully been done to small organisms.  If we fund it now and conquer these frivolous (and perhaps not so frivolous) arguments, real anti aging can become a reality.

The hour-long lecture can be found in its entirety here on Minnesota Public Radio.

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