14 yo daughter with fibroadenoma

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alemankc
alemankc Member Posts: 13
edited July 2018 in Benign Breast Conditions

Hi, my 14 y.o. was diagnosed Friday with a 2 cm by 3 cm fibroadenoma. We decided today to talk to a breast surgeon to see what we want to do. My question, if anyone might know, is this....I know this is a benign tumor, thankfully, but in October, she had a benign tumor taken off her tibia bone. I am wondering if she's just really "lucky" to have gotten two lovely unrelated tumors, or do you think there could be a connection between the two? The NP who sent her for the breast ultrasound said she really doesn't know. Anyone heard of this? Or is she just a "bumpy" girl, do you thonk?

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  • mdg
    mdg Member Posts: 3,571
    edited June 2014


    Did they biopsy it??

  • alemankc
    alemankc Member Posts: 13
    edited June 2014

    No biopsy done. Diagnosed using ultrasound. We have an appointment with surgeon on Friday the 27th.

  • leaf
    leaf Member Posts: 8,188
    edited June 2014

    I have absolutely no expertise in this, but I did find this one case report in Pubmed from 1989.  I know far less about bone tumors than breast tumors, so I have no idea if this case report is even relevant to your daughter's situation.  In this case report, if I'm reading it right, they are speculating the breast tumor may have bone origins.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2681879

    This is just one case study.  I don't understand lots of the Pubmed references, but I don't see other clinical studies in Pubmed looking at the association between the two conditions, so I'm guessing there is no huge association between the two conditions.  Obviously I'm no expert.  Glad you're getting this checked out.

    Best wishes!

  • mdg
    mdg Member Posts: 3,571
    edited June 2014

    without a biopsy there can be no definate diagnosis.  Ultrasounds are not completly accurate and cannot diagnose anything withcertainty.

  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited June 2014

    In teenagers who present with a fibroadenoma, often a biopsy is not done and is not considered necessary.  In many cases, monitoring is often the preferred option. 

    From the NIH: Fibroadenoma - breast

    Women
    in their teens or early 20s may not need a biopsy if the lump goes away
    on its own or if the lump does not change over a long period.

    From UCLA: Benign Breast Problems

    The first step for any woman who has found a breast lump is to have a
    breast examination by a doctor. The lump for a fibroadenoma is usually
    firm, well defined on palpation. In young women, ultrasound evaluation
    may be the only necessary study beyond doctor's examination.

    From Radiopaedia.org:  Fibroadenoma of the breast

    When a lesion has the typical features of a fibroadenoma on ultrasound
    and there are no clinical red flags they can be safely followed
    clinically.

    The normal approach to diagnosing and treating a fibroadenoma in a
    teenager or woman in her early 20s, assuming that the ultrasound imaging
    clearly indicates that the mass is a fibroadenoma
    , is not the same as
    the diagnostic process and treatment recommendations for someone who is in her 30s or older, who presents with what may be a fibroadenoma.

    I had my first fibroadenoma at 16 and then
    another at 20. The first was surgically removed because it was so large - and back
    when I was 16, they didn't even have ultrasounds. My second was left
    in place for years with no imaging done and no biopsy.  It was large too, and because it didn't shrink, eventually I
    decided to have it removed.

    alemankc, fibroadenomas are not particularly unusual in teenage girls.  My guess is that this is not related to your daughter's other benign tumor, but it will be interestingto hear the surgeon's perspective on that. It will also be interesting to see if the surgeon recommends a needle biopsy or whether he feels that the imaging is clear enough that monitoring is sufficient.

  • Blessings2011
    Blessings2011 Member Posts: 4,276
    edited June 2014

    When I was 16, I found a lump in my breast the size of a walnut. With typical teenage reasoning, I figured that if it was serious, it would have caused more trouble, and completely ignored it. 

    But when I got to college at age 18, the doctor at the university health center said it would have to come out.

    They removed the lump, which had not changed in size, and determined that it was a benign fibroadenoma. I guess they did the biopsy because ultrasounds hadn't been invented yet!!! (1968)

    They explained that these were very common in teenage girls. I never had another one.

  • lekker
    lekker Member Posts: 594
    edited June 2014

    I had a 5cm lump when I was 17.  My doctor tried to aspirate it but it was solid so I was sent for a mammogram. I don't remember a needle biopsy or ultrasound (it was the late 80's). I consulted a breast surgeon who wanted it out because he felt it was large enough that it could obscure imaging in the future.  I had two more fibroadenomas removed from the same breast when I was 29. I had cancer in the other breast at 42 and pathology from my BMX showed only "fibrocystic change" (benign) in the lumpy breast.  

  • poullots
    poullots Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2018

    hi my 14 yr. old daughter has had the same thing for about a yr now but the docs keep telling me that it will go away in time that surgery isn"t needed no biopsy done it bothers her so much especially when she plays sports i think thats why she has not wanted to play her favorite sport football again she is afraid the lump will get hit cause it hurts if it gets hit.

  • LMoon
    LMoon Member Posts: 14
    edited July 2018

    I don't know about the correlation between bone/breast masses, however, I was ~14 when I noticed my first mass and 16 when I was first diagnosed with fibroadenomas. In my experience, they were the most painful when I was younger. I was happy to have the most troublesome ones removed, but now that I'm 26 I'm still dealing with getting new ones and monitoring the older ones.

    I did have some uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts. So, I guess I'm just bumpy too haha. No bone bumps that I know of, and I've never heard of a connection between any of these things.

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