Breast lump in teen DD - please talk to me

[ShowOfHands]

15yr old DD has had a breast lump for several months. The GP has seen her twice and wasn't worried, was adamant it's a fibroadenoma (breast mouse) and it should self resolve but it could take a few months. Over the last few days, it's grown exponentially and is now 6cm from an original 2cm.

I've taken her to see a different GP today as it's obviously suddenly much bigger and causing discomfort and the GP has referred her on the 2 week pathway. He said it's smooth and he thinks it transilluminates (think that's the word) so he thinks cyst.

I know nobody can tell me that it'll be okay but this is the second 2 week wait she's been through. When she was 11, she had a weird thigh lesion which needed a lot of investigation and an operation. Completely benign in the end. She has EDS so lumps and bumps might be part and parcel of that.

I am not good with health stuff.

The hospital have phoned and due to staff shortages, they can't see her this week as arranged and will book her in for January.

I have tried to find any way I can of affording a private referral but the car died this morning and so we have no chance of being seen this month.

I couldn't feel less festive.

I was being reassuring...

How upsetting op, so sorry for you! Although try and see it positive that they do not feel she is urgent enough to see before Christmas. If they were very concerned they would find a way. I hope you can all enjoy Christmas and take your minds off the worry for a while.

Sounds like my gigantic cyst I got when pregnant with DD1 four years ago. The consultant said it was likely hormonal, so I imagine in a 15yo that could also be the case! It was scarily massive but they drained it and it hasn't come back yet, even though they did say they can sometimes refill (I did get a massive lump in my other breast with DD2 but that was mastitis that turned into an abscess and a whole other story of fun!)

Hope all is well

Hi Op,

I went through this in my early 20s and again now. What I had was a fibroadenoma that was just very large. I was advised that it was nothing to worry about but that it was unlikely to disappear on its own due to its size and, mine wasn't causing me pain but it could start to especially potentially when on my period. That along with the fact it could disguise something more serious behind it etc later in life the decided it should be removed.

Hopefully my story gives you a little comfort. Mine really was very large. So much so that it visibly changed the shape of my breast so it wasn't a little one.

Thank you everybody. You have ALL been reassuring and I thank you for sharing your stories. It helps more than you could ever know.

I did ring our local private hospitals yesterday to find out prices but nobody will see DD anyway as she is under 16 so the wait until January is unavoidable even if I sell my wedding ring (crossed my mind after sustaining a ridiculous wedding ring related injury on the last day of term).

DD has fecked off to her friend's house today. They're all boys and will spend the day playing board games and doing homework(!) in order to get it out of the way before Christmas. She told one of them - her very best mate - as he picked her up that her lump was "remaining enigmatic for now". As they wandered to the car, he was pondering why boys like boobs so much given they can be so troublesome for their owners. She's lucky to have very lovely friends and I'm continually amazed that a bunch of year 11 boys can be so respectful and kind. I'm lucky enough to teach them and they're a great bunch and part of the reason DD remains unfazed by all of this.

Merry Christmas everybody. I'm tackling the Big Clean and listening to carols. We will have a lovely Christmas because there's no reason not to and it's my favourite time of year.

I'll update you in January.

Hand hold. As I understand it, nearly everyone is out on the 2 week pathway because the other pathway tAkes months x

Juvenile fibroadenomas can grow quickly and very large. Hope you get seen soon, please try not to worry.

I know it's easy to say not to worry, but in over 20 years of paediatrics, I've not only yet to see a child that age with breast cancer, I've never even heard of one from a colleague. Of course it needs checking out, but the odds are incredibly strongly in her favour.

Your DD sounds like me as a teenager. I used to get so ill to the point of passing out on the first day of each period. And I also developed a fast growing breast lump (which I ignored for at least 3 months from a mix of embarrassment and the hope it would just go away!). It was diagnosed as a breast mouse by my GP and I had it removed at the hospital as it was so large. Hopefully it's a similar situation for your DD and they'll remove it for her - I can remember how happy I was to part company with it.

Just adding to the very similar stories with positive endings. My DD was 16 when her lump became noticeably big. Two week pathway, scan, biopsy, fibroadenoma. Grew very rapidly to about lemon size. Removed five months after first GP visit, during the Covid protocols, so she was on her own.

Apart from the point where she walked into the hospital alone for the op, she was amazingly (and uncharacteristically) chilled through the whole thing and absolutely no ill effects since. Scar is invisible.

I hope you get an appointment very soon so you can both get on and not worry about it any more.

Wishing you all well x

Didn't want to read and run - it sounds very scary. I had a friend when I was at school who had this exact thing when she was a bit younger than 15. It was quite scary (and her mum is a doctor so you'd think you'd be reassured!) but they removed it and it was absolutely fine. Just one of those things that happens with a body sometimes!!

DD saw the clinic yesterday which was a marvellous start to the new term!

It isn't a cyst. I can't remember the exact term they used but it's a tumour they think that starts as a fibroadenoma but then just gets bigger. She said it did look fibroadenoma like in every respect except it's bigger than average and a bit bumpy on the surface rather than smooth which suggests it's now considered something else instead. She said not to Google as I'd only find horror stories but to concentrate on the fact it's rarely sinister.

She had a biopsy there and then and results are in person a week today. Regardless, she will have surgery to remove it.

DD is now very wobbly as due to her eds, anaesthetics don't work well on her and she had a surgery a few years ago when she woke up during the procedure. All she can remember is the agony of them holding her down and having had no pain relief. She was undiagnosed then and they've already reassured her that the anaesthetist will be able to anticipate any problems in advance.

She's also worried about it affecting her GCSEs as she's in y11 and the stress of the eds, mocks last month, her POTs being a bit of a problem and just being an adolescent is a bit much for her.

So no bad news and tentative reassurance that it's unlikely to be bad news but I feel almost worse today thank I did last week. Probably because DD is no longer calm.

DD didn't sleep properly last night and is really pushing herself not to miss any school. I was in the middle of teaching y11 this afternoon and the head teacher came to get me. DD had fainted and then vomited in a bin. She feels much better now but is clearly anxious about having to have surgery.

This is EXACTLY what my daughter had. She needed surgery twice as she stupidly didn't stay on the recommended birth control to Keep her hormones in check. Thankfully she eventually settled down with her hormones and hasn't had a recurrence in 5 years.

I'm sure your daughter will be fine ,likely just a bit sore. I'm glad she was finally seen. Must have felt like forever.

I wonder if the pill would help. She has horrible periods and they make her POTs worse. She always faints/vomits on day 1 and the GP recommended she wait to see if it settles down with age but she has had periods for 4 or 5 years now and they're still bad for the first couple of days. If it stops a recurrence of this lump, maybe that's another bonus. We've given it 6 months since we asked about the pill the first time so I think we will go back and discuss options.

How was the surgery for your dd @glasshole Did it leave a noticeable gap at first?

Oddly it didn't leave a noticeable gap. She had lemon sized and textured lumps in both breasts and right after surgery she was very swollen so that hid it totally. As the swelling went down it was noticeable to her but not really to any of us. She was normally a 36DD but the lumps pushed her up a good few cups and she felt very very top heavy. She was much happier after the surgery. She needed a second surgery a year or so later as she didn't stick with the birth control so her hormones went crazy again. But thankfullyl around age 19-20 her hormone levels just suddenly seemed to level out and the lumps stopped appearing. Her mood was more stable too.

Thank you. I've looked at some - reputable! - sites showing the surgery and the post op pictures don't seem to show noticeable gaps. DD is pretty laid-back and appearance isn't something she necessarily worries about but I know she's wondering about it and 15 is a tough time to feel different to your peers. A lot of the surgeries I've seen seem to try and create a scar round the areola where possible which makes sense. DD is only a 30DD so the lump is very noticeable. It's probably the size of a plum and quite disfiguring.

My daughters scars are directly under her breasts, near the crease. Similar to implant scars. The bonus is that as she's aged and breast feed her babies her boobs have natural drooped a bit and so they aren't at all visible unless she was to do a naked hand stand 😂

Aren't we all doing naked handstands on the daily?!

We saw the surgeon today who was quite possibly the loveliest man I've ever met. He was exceptionally good with DD. He says the biopsy confirms it's a fibroadenoma. They've sent it away for further tests due to it being so large and a bit bumpy but he isn't worried and said it's precautionary. Surgery is in a few weeks and he said he's never had a patient wake up but that's because his anaesthetist of 20yrs is a wizard and he works with him for a reason. He asked all about DD's EDS and reassured her. He also said that due to the location and presentation, he's confident that there will be no gap, not even initially as the compressed tissue will move back into place.

I fell tentatively positive!

Brilliant news op!