phaedrus

Hi Supermom.
I was diagnosed with a fibroadenoma about 4 years ago. I found a lump that wasn't painful at all at the time. I had an ultrasound done and was referred to an oncologist. The physical exam and ultrasound were used in the diagnosis of a probable fibroadenoma. The ultrasound cannot give conclusive diagnosis alone. Only a proper biopsy wil do that. The oncologist said that in her very experienced opinion that this was for sure a fibroadenoma. She was prepared to biopsy it but was nervous to do so because the lump was located directly over a rib, and this would make the procedure more invasive than necessary as in order to make sure the lump was completely removed (which is harder to detect when bone is in the way apparently), they would have to remove more tissue than normal. From the info that i read, it is standard procedure to remove a certain amount of outlying tissue anyway when biopsies are taken. I can't afford to lose anymore tissue than necessary, if you know what i mean (lucky if i can get into an A without padding, thanks to two wonderful children- lol). So I opted not to do it. Now that I have had other issues with other body parts, I have become more and more aware that anything can happen with the body. What I can tell you is this, fibroadenomas are not cancerous, as you say. And most doctors do not link tham with cancer, though there is a section of the medical profession that believes they can rarely become cancerous later. I would go ahead with the biopsy, just so you can know if there is anything else there. A fibroadenoma is a tissue mass...a tumour. It is not a cyst (also not usually linked with cancer, though it can be in rare cases, as one poor lady on this health board found out recently). Cysts are fluid filled. Something else that is reassuring is that typically, pain is a good sign. Only late stage cancers usually have pain as a symptom, as well as a whole host of other symptoms that would be hard to miss. My fibroadenoma has changed position and size, tenderness and even doubled depending on menstrual cycle, stress, immune system dive...you name it. You need to keep an eye on this and anything else, skin colour and texture changes, nipple discharge (noting colour), and any lumps that are not movable.
Good luck and keep us posted with your results and how the biopsy went. I am thinking of going back and asking them to go ahead and biopsying it now anyway....