When the FDA decided not to lift restrictions, their scientists acknowledged that long-term health risks were still unknown. Implant survivors may receive from $2,000 to $250,000. Details are available to the public at dcsettlement or by calling 1-866-874-6099. "Women in the Dow Corning settlement can finally get some closure," said Sybil Niden Goldrich, the consumer representative on the Tort Claimants Committee and founder of the Command Trust Network, an information clearinghouse on breast implants. "Now that corporate interests are no longer distorting research funding on this issue, we hope that women and their treating physicians may finally learn the long-term effects of silicone in the body and how to best get relief from their symptoms."

Ms. Goldrich, a breast cancer survivor, received breast implants after a bilateral mastectomy. Her implants were replaced four times as each set failed. Debilitating symptoms kept her bedridden until she had the implants removed for good, after which her health improved. Years later, silicone was removed from her uterus and ovaries during a hysterectomy. A biopsy also revealed silicone in her liver.

Information on the settlement and options is available on line at www.sfdct, a website hosted by the Settlement Facility, and offered in seven languages, or by calling 866-874-6099 in the U.S. and Canada.