In 1961, a doctor held a plastic bag filled with blood and as he felt and squeezed the bag, he thought that it felt like a woman’s breast. A year later, that doctor, Frank Gerow and Dr. Thomas Cronin created the first artificial silicone breast implant. Timmie Jean Lindsey, a factory worker in Texas became the first recipient of a breast implant, going from a B cup to a C cup and the rest is history. She is now 80-years-old.

One report says that about 4% of all women in the United States have had a breast implant. If that doesn’t like that many, realize that is about 1 of every 26 women. So, if you are at a function with around 100 women, chances are that at least 4 of them have breast implants.

Many breast implants today are filled with saline instead of silicone, which has reduced some of the health risks that have resulted by leaking implants. Some women developed a toxic shock condition from silicone leaking out of breast implants. Chances are, is saline leaks out of an implant it is easily absorbed by the body without any ill effects.

With the popularity of breast implants, have come other health concerns including a cancer in the breast that is not classified as breast cancer. It’s the breast cancer that’s not breast cancer, per this report:

“Cases of a rare type of cancer that is linked to breast implants appear to be on the rise, according to a new review.”

‘The cancer, called ‘breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma,’ or BIA-ALCL, is not a form of breast cancer, but rather a lymphoma, which is a cancer of the immune system.”

How common or uncommon is BIA-ALCL? Estimates range from 1 in 30,000 women with implants to as few 1 in 4,000. Regardless of which stat you use, the important thing is that the number of incidents of this form of cancer is on the rise and will continue to increase with the popularity of breast implants.

According to senior study author Dr. Dino Ravic:

“We’re seeing that this cancer is likely very underreported, and as more information on this type of cancer comes to light, the number of cases is likely to increase in the coming years.”

With the growing increase in cases of BIA-ALCL, the FDA announced earlier this year that they are recognizing the connection between breast implants an BIA-ALCL, especially in textured implants that were introduced in the 1980s and became very popular in the 1990s.

Some suspect that this form of lymphoma may be caused by inflammation that results when breast tissue begins to fill in the textured depressions on the surface of the implants. This generally took an average of about 10 years from when having the implants and the average age of women being diagnosed with BIA-ALCL was 51.

The lymphoma may still be rare, but it’s a growing concern that should be considered by every woman before deciding to get breast implants.