FDA says 359 cases of possible breast implant-associated cancer reported

TAMPA, Fla. (KABC) -- The Food and Drug Administration said hundreds of cases of possible breast implant-associated cancer have been reported, an alarming statistic for the 400,000 women who get implants in the U.S. every year.

Stacey Boone was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and she said she never suspected it was due to her breast implants.

"I thought I had the flu. I was having hot flashes, severe sweating. Under my armpit there were not only one but four nodules in my lymph nodes," Boone recalled.

She was diagnosed with breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma - or ALCL - a very rare and potentially deadly form of cancer that affects cells in the immune system found around the breast implant.

"I had my implants done in the early 90s and I was never told that I needed to go back and have them checked every so many years," Boone said.

The FDA said over the last six years there have been 359 reports of possible breast implant-associated cancer, including nine deaths.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons told ABC News it "...has a singular focus on patient safety..." and that it will "...continue to fund multiple research projects to further delineate this disease process."

After four six-week rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, Boone's cancer was in remission. She will be two years cancer free in June.

Experts said ALCL is a rare cancer that is usually treatable. Symptoms include redness, pain, swelling, and asymmetry.

"There may be something about the texture of the implant inducing some inflammation causing the cancer," explained Dr. Frederick Locke, a medical oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center. "But it is currently not well understood why it happens."