A Woman in My Position: The Politics of Breast Implant Safety

Moira Harris is a graduate student in animal behavior at the University
of Saskatchewan.

In 1985, Linda Wilson received breast implants after having naively
consented to a double mastectomy intended to “cure” recurrent breast
lumps. In this well-written, detailed, and thoroughly disturbing book,
Wilson chronicles the five-year medical and emotional ordeal brought on
by the Meme breast implant, which, she would ultimately discover had
never been safety-tested, registered, or approved by Health and Welfare
Canada. The rejection, removal, and replacement of Wilson’s implants
were followed by a long, frustrating battle to determine the risks of
breast implants in general and of the Meme in particular. That battle
led to her eventually being branded a troublemaker with possible
psychiatric problems.

The Meme implant was taken off the market in 1991. Linda Wilson is now
an activist and

co-founder of a support and information net-work for women with breast
implants. Her horrifying, sobering tale merits our attention.