Pathology report: flat epithelial atypia

Caedwyn

I originally posted this in "not diagnosed but worried" and got a suggestion to post here. I guess this is a diagnosis, even tho not a malignant diagnosis.

I just had CNB for microcalcifications on my mammogram. Path results were negative for cancer yay! But wait, in addition to various benign changes (fibrocystic, adenosis, normal hyperplasia) the path found "flat epithelial atypia." Nurse scheduled me a consult with a breast surgeon for excision biopsy. I understand they want to be aggressive about these things, though she agreed this wasn't an emergency. I asked what my other options were, and she said I should discuss it with the surgeon. Why in the world would I expect a surgeon to be open to non-surgical options? I've been reading as many studies as I can find, and as far as I can tell there's no consensus on whether to excise FEA. I don't know. Has anyone had FEA? If so, what did you do?

vbishop

Caedwyn -

I can't answer the question about FEA, but I can confirm that my surgeon does not always recommend surgery.  In fact, he tries to find other options, if possible.  Just so you know there are some out there...