Stay Natural by Rosaline McDonald - availabe on e.g. Amazon

Powerful book backed by scientific sources warns of the risks of breast implants

Rosaline Ratering - McDonald

Adviseur Vitaliteit en D.I. | Trainer Leefstijl & Stoppen met Roken | CRKBO/KABIZ geregistreerd | Oprichter Gezond & Weldoen | Bestuurslid Stichting Gratis Gezond | Auteur Blijf natuurlijk je bent mooi zoals je bent

30 september 2026

‘Stay Natural’ available worldwide from October 1 - 2026

STOKKUM (Gelderland) – This autumn marks five years since Jacqueline Roes passed away. On November 20, 2021, she died at the age of 56 after years of severe health problems associated with multiple ruptured and leaking silicone breast implants. Her medical history, her struggle to be taken seriously, and her determination to warn other women form the heart of the book Stay Natural – You Are Beautiful Just as You Are by Rosaline McDonald.

Five years after her death, Jacqueline’s message is now reaching an international audience. Alongside the revised Dutch edition, Blijf natuurlijk has now been translated into English and is available worldwide, including through Amazon, as both a paperback and e-book.

From personal story to scientifically supported dossier

Stay Natural is a small, compact and accessible book with a strongly evidence-based message. At the back of the book, QR codes give readers direct access to scientific publications, medical sources and studies on topics including implant leakage, gel bleed, rupture, silicone migration and the many serious health complaints associated with Breast Implant Illness, commonly abbreviated as BII.

The insights of, among others, Dr Henry Dijkman from Nijmegen, a scientific researcher and lecturer in cell biology, tissue biology and pathology, are given substantial attention in the book. In an interview with the author, he discusses his research into silicone migration and silicone toxicity. Together with plastic surgeon Dr Rita Kappel and researcher Lucas Boer, among others, he previously published pioneering scientific research into rupture and gel bleed from silicone breast implants.

An important study by Dijkman, Slaats and Bult, published in JAMA Network Open, examined silicone particles in tissue from women whose silicone breast implants had been removed or replaced. International research has also described migrating silicone particles and systemic symptoms in women with implants.

Breast pathologist Prof. Dr Peter Bult is also mentioned. Together with Dijkman, he examined tissue from Jacqueline Roes. Silicone was detected in, among other places, muscle and nerve tissue.

The author also refers to international research and publications by, among others, Prof. Dr Jan Willem Cohen Tervaert, A.E. Brawer, Prof. Dr P.W. Nanayakkara and J.C.R. Mustafá and colleagues. Publications in journals including JAMA Network Open, BMJ Open and Frontiers in Global Women’s Health are cited, as well as warnings issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

No longer just a discussion about a ruptured implant

One of the book’s key messages is that the discussion should not be limited to whether an implant is visibly ruptured.

Scientific research also describes gel bleed: the release of very small components of silicone gel through the implant shell. Scientific publications have also described the migration of silicone particles into tissues outside the breast.

Possible problems discussed in the scientific literature and in the book include:

• rupture and leakage of implants;

• gel bleed;

• migration of silicone particles to surrounding and more distant tissues;

• chronic inflammatory reactions around the implant;

• silicone in lymph nodes;

• systemic symptoms such as severe fatigue, joint complaints, skin problems, hair loss and brain fog;

• neurological and autoimmune-like symptoms;

• and specific, rare forms of cancer that have been associated with certain types of breast implants.

The book also describes research in which silicone particles were detected in tissues further away from the breast. Dijkman explains that his research group has observed silicone migration to various tissues and, in exceptional cases, towards the brain and spinal cord.

QR codes: readers can examine the evidence themselves

“The central message is not that every woman with implants becomes ill. What the available medical literature does show is that complications and systemic symptoms must be taken seriously and investigated further,” says author Rosaline Ratering-McDonald.

“That is exactly why the new edition contains QR codes and references that take readers directly to the original research. There is no need for a complicated search through medical databases and no need to rely on personal experiences alone: readers can click through to the publications and assess the evidence for themselves.”

This means that scientific information is now literally within reach of every woman, doctor, journalist or policymaker who wants to learn more about the subject.

The author, herself a BII survivor, says:

“Women are often told that there is no evidence, or that their symptoms cannot possibly be related to their implants. I have personal experience, but why should anyone simply take my word for it? That is why I have included QR codes linking to the most important original scientific sources. Scan the code, read the study and form your own opinion.”

Jacqueline paid an unimaginably high price

Jacqueline Roes originally received breast implants for medical reasons. She had them for 28 years and underwent several implant replacement procedures. On three separate occasions, rupture occurred and silicone was released from the implants.

Over the following years, she developed increasingly severe health problems. She sought help from several hospitals and doctors, but for a long time no connection with her implants was recognised. Eventually, she came into contact with Henry Dijkman.

By then, her health had already deteriorated severely. Several of her limbs eventually had to be amputated. Until her death, Roes continued to draw attention to what had happened to her and to call for better information for other women.

Rosaline McDonald got to know Jacqueline Roes personally after discovering that her own implants were leaking. She describes Jacqueline as the woman who ultimately helped her understand where her own health problems might have originated.

“Jacqueline kept saying: Stay natural. You are beautiful just as you are. Those words became the title and the mission of the book.”

Other women are also breaking the silence

The new edition also refers to Calm Your Tits by former model, influencer and actress Jamie Crafoord. In that book, Crafoord describes her own experiences following a failed breast augmentation and the severe health complaints she associates with Breast Implant Illness.

Like Stay Natural, her story centres on better information beforehand, recognition of symptoms and giving women the opportunity to make a truly informed decision about their own bodies.

‘Report your symptoms: do not let experiences disappear’

Stay Natural is intended not only to inform women, but also to help them take practical action. One of the final steps in the book is therefore to consider legal action.

Women who have developed health problems after receiving silicone breast implants, or who suspect their symptoms may be connected to their implants, are referred to Meldpunt Klachten Siliconen, the Dutch reporting centre for silicone-related complaints.

Through www.meldpuntklachtensiliconen.com, women can report their situation and obtain information about possible next steps.

The author advises women to keep medical records, implant details, dates of surgery, test results and a timeline of their symptoms, and to formally document their experiences. This not only strengthens their personal medical file, but also helps build a clearer picture of the scale and nature of the problem.

McDonald says:

“A complaint that is never reported barely exists in the statistics. Every report helps to make patterns visible. Jacqueline fought to be heard. Women today should not have to struggle for decades before their symptoms are taken seriously and properly investigated.”

Revised Dutch edition and international English edition

The revised Dutch edition of Blijf natuurlijk – je bent mooi zoals je bent is being released five years after the death of Jacqueline Roes.

At the same time, her story is available internationally in English for the first time and can be purchased worldwide through Amazon as both a paperback and e-book.

This gives a new dimension to the promise the author made to Jacqueline Roes.

“Her story must not disappear, and her warning should not stop at the Dutch border,” says Rosaline McDonald.

About Rosaline Ratering-McDonald

Rosaline McDonald (Arnhem, 1962) is a former journalist, lifestyle trainer, trainer of professionals and lived-experience expert. After leaking silicone breast implants were discovered in her own body, she had them removed and began studying the scientific and medical research surrounding silicone implants and Breast Implant Illness.

Stay Natural combines the story of Jacqueline Roes, the author’s own personal experience, interviews and scientific literature with a practical recovery plan for women who experience health problems after breast implants.