Fibroadenoma: What should I know?

Lisa Richardson8 said:My OB-GYN told me they aren't even related, anyway. Plus, my fibroadenoma hasn't changed at all—it grows maybe like a millimeter every two years or something—so I'm fine without them. 😁

Honestly, my doctor is either totally old-school—like, "get pregnant" or "stop taking birth control"—or he just gives the weirdest advice. Not that I actually listen to him, obviously. 😛

That was precisely how my old man used to put it, though my wife has since enlightened me on the matter, and the IRS has certainly provided its own official confirmation 😁

Lisa Richardson8 said:My old man used to say the same thing, then my wife set me straight, and my doctor actually confirmed it too.😁

That doc was the one who ran the tests for me, but I haven't even made it to see the specialist yet.

hm... I had one doctor tell me that things actually recede during pregnancy, lol 😁 such conflicting advice out there.
It’s still there, though. I should probably go get it checked out now to see if it's growing.

My mother took him in twice. Everyone except that surgeon advised her against the second visit, warning that poking at it too much wouldn't help. Still, she went because she was terrified it might grow, though she ended up regretting the whole thing.

She’s constantly going in for checkups now. She even cut out all milk and dairy products to avoid the hormones—unless it’s local farm cheese—because she heard about a woman whose breast tissue practically vanished after stopping dairy. She’s stuck to herbal teas, various supplements for prevention, whole grains, and mostly organic chicken, veal, or lamb.

Then there’s my friend. She’s had hers since she was thirteen, and she’s got small breasts. Now she’s twenty-seven and just monitors it. She hasn't wanted to touch it then, and she certainly doesn't want to now.

Back when I was 16, I had this fibroadenoma that was about 2 cm wide.
Then, out of nowhere, it just totally vanished.
It feels kind of weird now, especially since everyone keeps telling me they usually stick around and just keep growing.😕

Taylor Chase4 said:My mom actually had him removed twice. Honestly, everyone except the surgeon was telling her to hold off on the second one because you shouldn't mess with things too much, but she ended up going through with it anyway because she was terrified it might grow further. Looking back, I guess she feels like maybe she should've just left it alone.

She’s basically constantly checking it now, and she completely cut out milk and dairy because of the hormones—though she still makes her own cheese at home. She heard this story about a woman who stopped all dairy and her breasts actually shrunk and lost their shape, so she's being super cautious. She's been drinking red clover tea (supposedly helps prevent breast cancer) and taking a bunch of herbal supplements as a preventative measure. Her diet is mostly grains and organic stuff like free-range chicken, veal, and lamb.

Then there's my friend, who's had one since she was thirteen—can you believe that?—but she has a small chest. She’s twenty-seven now and just monitors it; she hasn't wanted anything done to it then or now.

Just so we're clear, a fibroadenoma isn't cancer. But wait, why did your mom have yours operated on?

Carol Parker said:A fibroadenoma isn't cancer. Why did your mom have them surgically removed?

I didn't say it was. She had them removed twice—the largest ones, since she's prone to them. They’re benign, but there’s always that nagging fear they might turn malignant, so she opted for surgery just to be safe. The pathology reports confirmed they were non-cancerous, though.

It’s lucky they disappeared. From what I understand, it's rare for them to just vanish like that, but since you were going through puberty at the time, hormones probably played a part.

I caught it when I was 22—it was about the size of a hazelnut. They just took it out, and honestly, I haven't had a single issue since. It didn't even resurface after 17 years and two pregnancies... now I'm just left with this tiny little scar as a reminder.