I found my first cyst at 15 so I’ve been checking myself ever since. In january I had a fibroadenoma diagnosed after I found a lump in my RB near my cleavage, the hospital staff were great and the doctor explained I could have it removed if I was worried about it. I said no because I had just watched my mum recover from a mastectomy for BC in the RB and I couldn’t bear the thought of surgery. But it grew and I went back on tuesday to ask for it to be removed, the consultant thought she found another lump and sent me for an ultrasound, they found three more fibroadenomas. I’ve asked for the largest to be removed, I’m worried that if it grows any bigger and has to come out, that it will leave a slight dent in the tissue, (not ideal for a 22 year old) or that something could grow in behind it and I wouldn’t feel it. The consultant said the surgery would most likely be done under general and I’d be in and out in a day but she didn’t tell me about recovery times or anything really. Does anyone have any experience of the surgery? And can anyone tell me how they have dealt with fibroadenomas? I’m worried about the surgery but I’m also worried about dismissing a lump as a fibroadenoma and it being something else, I know the chance of that is low but I know fibroadenomas are hormone receptive and that’s what my mum’s cancer was. So basically I’m just a giant worrier and need some calming down
Hi there sailor-girl
Welcome to the forums, I hope youfind them a great source of information and support.
It might be worthwhile calling our Helpline who will be able to talk you through the surgery and likely recovery time, I’m sure it will help to discuss things. They’re on 0808 800 6000 and are open 9-5 on weekdays and 10-2 on Saturday.
Hope this helps.
kind regards
Louise, Facilitator
Hello Sailor-Girl,
You have another choice besides surgery for fibroadenomas. It is called cryoablation. You are awake for the entire 10-13 minutes in the office not an operating room. The physician freezes the fibroadenoma and it breaks down the cells so new ones can be replaced. Go to www.icecure-medical.com for more info. Good luck with your decision.
Breastcancersurvivor
Hi Sailor girl,
My daughter is also in your position aged just 21, she too has watched me undergo intensive breast cancer treatment since she was 16.
She found 2 lumps and on scanning was told there was another one all confirmed by biopsy as being fibroadenomas, since then they have located on scan another 8 in one breast with more in the other one, 1 which is quite big and may need removing.
I was very worried and my breast nurse told me if she checked every young girl in the college across the road she would probably find most would have these as it is so common, but they do not turn cancerous, yes they are hormone receptive but only because as your breasts develop they use the hormones to grow etc…
The consultant explained this also to us both and said in no way was she worried but removing it may be needed as some can grow quite large and distort the breast most though shrink. It is also quite common for them to come and go quite rapidly.
her aunt also had large fibroadenomas removed in her twenties and all is well.
Again we have been told day surgery and recovery quick with no lasting effects, scarring being very minimal.
I can thorougly understand your worry as my daughter feels the same way and she has seen me go through 7 surgeries in 4 years as well as chemo etc… I know as her Mum i felt physically sick but after speaking with my breast nurse and being in with her consultant I am happy and calm and so is my daughter.
good luck for both you and your mum.
Logically I know that I have little to worry about but I am incredibly irrational when it comes to stuff like this, I put it down to finding a lump two months after my mum got diagnosed with BC, it was just too fresh. The last thing I want is to worry my mum, I didn’t even tell her I had found a lump until I had had my ultrasound and biopsy. I think I’m going to go ahead with the surgery because they’ll put me under, I felt sick being awake during my biopsy (the nurse saying “oo that’s a lot of blood” didn’t help) and I hate getting my blood taken so I don’t think I could stand to have people poking and freezing me while I was awake. I guess I really want them removed becasue I’ve read stories of women leaving them and then not finding another tumour behind them until it is quite late and I know that accounts for a tiny percentage of women who have FAs but like I said, giant worrier.
Good luck to you and your daughter too Kernowdaisy, I really hope you both do well xx
I am just a little bit confused! Today I went in for my results and was told that my lumps (one in each breast) were fibroadenomas. Fantastic news and I am obviously very pleased! I am 43 and as one of them was 5 cm I was then expecting a discussion re removal. The consultant said that as an “oncologist” there was no need for it to be removed and that it posed no additional risk. He also said something strange regarding my age “We shall just say that you are 42” - I had been under the impression from what I had read that being over 40, having two fibroadenomas (one being 5cm) would have merited a bit more discussion regarding possible removal. He did pass me a leaflet on fibroadenomas though! I then asked about whether I was “now in the system” for future checks and he just told that I would be contacted again as part of the national screening programme at 50+.
I have nothing but praise for how I have been treated at the Breast Clinic (hospital near Borough Station in London) but although I found today to be an almighty relief, the consultant was quite dismissive.
Believe me I am delighted with my biopsy results but just want to check that the information I have received is correct in respect of removal.
Thank you.
Ps. good luck xx
The consultant I saw said anything could be removed if you are worried about it but different Trusts might have different regulations. The first consultant I saw, back in january, was much better than the one I saw this time, a bit like you I felt a bit like she thought I was a silly tearful girl until I said I wanted at least the largest one removed, then she started to book me in for the surgery without explaining anything about it! I had to ask what would happen and then I said I wanted to think about it/talk to my mum. Request another appointment to discuss the possiblity of surgery if you feel strongly about it, trust me, there’s nothing worse than sitting around thinking about maybes. I was told that there was a 3 month wait if I did want the surgery on the NHS, so you might have a bit of a wait.
Thank you for your reply. I think that I will see how aware of it (the larger one) I am when I go back to my gym and will also be more vigilant - in case there are any changes. I have got a busy year coming up so although health matters always come first, if it is OK for them to be left as they are, I will get on with my life!
Hope all goes well with your removal.
Hello, I am sure there is nothing to worry about. Without being a scaremonger though I wanted to tell you about my fibroadenoma journey, in case it helps solidify your thinking lol. I was diagnosed 6 years ago with 1 fibroadenoma. I totally understand how you feel about worrying it may mask a new growth. When I went back to get things checked in May 2011 due to more ‘bulk’ and lots of monthly pain I asked at ultrasound if ‘it’ had grown to be informed that there were now three of them and 2 cysts.
The smallest was IDC grade 2 and I insisted they took out the other two and two cysts as well because I knew it would be a needle in the haystack looking for future lumps!
Hope you get things sorted soon. xx
I was also diagnosed 6 years ago with a 46mm fibroadenoma and was asked what I wanted to do about it. It could not be seen, but it could be felt under the skin and I just had a bad feeling about it, so I asked for it to be removed. I would stress all of my test results came back clear, unfortunately the fibroadenoma was completely hiding a stage 3 tumour whch was discovered during day surgery. After further surgery to remove my lymph nodes 3 weeks later the cancer was found in one of them.
However, I would also stress this is not an everyday occurence, more one of those things that happens once in a blue moon. One lady I know sees the clinic every couple of years about lumps and bumps in her breasts and they are always benign.
Hi
I had a fibroedanoma removed back in 2004. At the time, my local hospital had the policy that they would remove it so that it wouldn’t cause cofusion in the future.
The surgery was am afternoon-case and I was off the ward for less than 30 minutes. The surgeon discussed where to cut me and was planning on going round the nipple to reduce scarring, but as the ;ump was on the armpit side, he did a vertical cut on the side of my breast.
You probably won’t want to wear a bra going home, but afterwards will want a non=wired one for support. It took a while for walking about to be comfy.
My scar has faded very well and is barely noticeable.
Good luck
Hi everyone ,
just a little food for thought ,
i was diagnosed with a fibro 1.2 cm in nov 2009 after routine mammo & ultra sound after my hospital couldnt get a clear enough picture (because of the placement of the fibro )I was sent to liverpool to a one stop breast clinic the begining of march 2010 again more mammos ultra sound they tried to asperate couldnt so did a core biopsy again this confirmed a fibro which by now it had grown to 1.8cm they suggested to leave it which on theire advice i did so .
Roll forward to oct 2011 when a well defined lump appeared in the front upper of my right breast ,back to the breast clinic more mammos and ultra sound this time it was 5cm so my hospital policy is anything over 3 cm and is painful comes out
of to surgery wed 23 rd oct 2011 lunchtime home wed tea time no pain as such just a minor discomfort the scar was to the left of the breast and healed perfect in no time at all there was no dent at all the i could notice,I went after 3 weeks for a check up and got the shock of my life when i was told that what they thought was a fibro was indeed a very rare aggressive form of cancer and they needed to do an emergeny mystectomy !!.
when they do a core biopsy they are only grabbing at sections of the fibro now wether mine was there all along or it developed later we will never now but it was hidden inside of the fibro and was only found when disected in the lab .
I to dont want to scare anyone as one of the ladies said mine is also a one of there are only . 300 reported cases world wide of the tumour i had but as you can see from the last few post 3 of us had fibros that were hiding something else sinister ,in hindsight which is a wonderful thing and from what i have read and learnt from my searches i should have considered my age my body changes ect ect and opted for removal
Good luck and i hope all of your lumps and bumps are just fibrodenomas .
I think a lot of surgeons recommend fibroids being removed once they are a certain size. I was asked what I wanted to do about mines but I had already decided on removal as something was telling me it wasn’t quite right (when I look back now I had felt very, very tired for a few months but was blaming it on the fact my dad had just died the previous autumn). The surgeon told me if I’d said I didn’t want it taken out he would have steered me down the route of removal on the basis that when they get bigger it means a disfigurement.