Hello everyone. I am new to this board (though I'm a regular at the Back board).

A little background: I am 53, just started menopause, and have never had an abnormal reading on my mammograms. However, my mother and paternal grandmother both had breast cancer, and I started having mammograms when I was 30 because of that family history.

At my most recent mammogram, they discovered two abnormalities on the left breast. I was called back in for a sonogram of the left breast, which showed the two abnormal areas clearly. The sonogram was followed a few days later with a sonogram-guided needle biopsy.

The two areas turned out to be fluid-filled cysts, which were drained. They also found a third area, a hard cyst, sort of surrounded by the fluid-filled cysts.

They took biopsies of both the fluid-filled cysts and the hard cyst. All came back as benign (what a relief!). However, they were somewhat puzzled about the hard cyst and, after conferring, the pathologists eventually called it a papilloma. But they were surprised by it's size (large), and said papillomas are uncommon in the breast. They recommended having it surgically removed, though they said there is no rush.

My questions are:

* I have read about Intraductal Papilloma -- "a small, benign tumor that grows within a milk duct of the breast" -- but my tumor is large (more than 1" across). Has anyone else experienced a large papilloma tumor in their breast?

* What kind of surgeon is best to remove such a growth?

* Is there a connection between the papilloma and the fluid-filled cysts?

* Is the papilloma a pre-cancerous tumor?

I see my PCP next week to talk about surgeons and next steps. I'm feeling somewhat confused, and not at all reassured, by the "papilloma" diagnosis.

Cordially,
Pippin