What Are Fibroadenomas And How to Effectively Treat Them

As a woman, a regular breast examination requires you to perform every time you get out of the shower. When you notice a lump around your breast, you need to get it checked out early. It may or may not be cancerous, but you need to have it checked out.

One of the reasons you may have that lump may be because of fibroadenomas. They can be pretty solid and scary at first, but they are noncancerous lumps. Below, you can get more info on fibroadenomas and how they can be effectively treated.

Overview of Fibroadenomas

These are some solid but noncancerous breast lumps that you can easily spot. They often occur in women that are between the age of 15 and 35. When you perform your breast-test examination, they will feel firm, smooth, and rubbery.

Fibroadenomas may also be well-shaped – and another peculiar aspect about them is that they are painless. You may feel like there’s a marble under your skin as it moves around when you examine it. And they can shrink or enlarge on their own, too.

Symptoms

As stated above, you can easily find these lumps when you perform breast-examination routines. Some of the symptoms that you are likely to experience are:

• Painless
• Easily moved
• Round with distinct and smooth borders
• Firm and rubbery

You may still need expert advice to be sure when you feel any of these symptoms, as it may as well be something else.

The other thing you may need to look out for as a symptom of fibroadenomas is that they can be more than one. This can be in one breast or can be in both breasts. It would help if you didn’t panic when you notice there are many in your breasts.

Types of Fibroadenomas

There are a couple of fibroadenomas that you can have, and they are:

• Complex fibroadenomas – these possess changes like overgrowth of cells, and they can increase.
• Juvenile fibroadenomas – a common type of lump found in girls and adolescents – 10 -18 years old.
• Giant fibroadenomas – can grow larger than two inches. These need to be removed as they can replace other breast tissue.
• Phyllodes tumors – some of these tumors can become cancerous over time. These, too, need to be removed as soon as possible.

Causes

The idea of fibroadenomas is one that no one can place a finger on, what the leading cause can be. Most of the time, they are related to reproductive hormones. That’s why this condition is usually common during a woman’s reproductive years.

They are also known to get bigger during pregnancy or when there’s the use of hormone therapy. When the hormone levels decrease, they will also shrink – this will usually happen after menopause.

Treatment of Fibroadenoma

There are several forms of treatment when you have this condition. The treatments are divided into two, surgical and nonsurgical. In most cases, though, when you have a fibroadenoma, there’s no need to pursue any form of treatment.

• Surgical

The doctor, after examination, will decide whether you need surgery or not. Some of the tests they’d have performed to reach this conclusion are clinical breast exams, biopsy, or imaging tests. You can click this link to find out more on why a doctor may recommend surgery. The two forms of surgeries that can be performed to remove a fibroadenoma are:

• Lumpectomy

• Cryoablation

When you have had the surgery, that doesn’t mean that it’s the end. There are times when a few new ones may reoccur. If that happens, they need to be further assessed to determine if the lump can become cancerous.

• Nonsurgical

You may not need surgery in most cases of fibroadenoma. If there needs to be managed, this is because there are several reasons to avoid surgery like:

• They can disappear on their own
• Surgery can distort the shape of the breast. The texture, too, is at risk of getting distorted after surgery.
• There are plenty of lumps, and they all appear stable. This is when there’s no change in size to the fibroadenoma.

This cause of action to avoid surgery should be one that the doctor recommends. This is when they feel there’s no need for it. But it’s also crucial to monitor the fibroadenoma with a regular visit to the doctor.

During these visits, the doctor performs breast ultrasounds to determine if there are changes to the appearance or size of the lump.

A lump may be a scary thing to find, but it’s not all gloom when you find one. It may simply be a fibroadenoma, which is quite manageable if it isn’t severe. Here is all you need to know about the condition and the best mode of action to treat the lump.