Juvenile fibroadenoma BRCA 1 positive family

[hebasylum]

My 12-year old niece has recently been DX w/a fibroadenoma to be removed in one week.  My mother (72), sister (49) and I (43)  are all BRCA I positive w/my mother being a 8 year ovarian Stage 3B survivor and my sister a 7 year breast (stage 2B, receptor negative) survivor (though she's undergoing testing right now to determine if she has a metastases).  We are all terrified at the prospect of my niece's future even though the fibroadenoma is thought to be benign.  Are these fibro's a prognosticator of things to come?  I know that no one can see into the future, but with our family history (my mother's fraternal twin died @ 38 of mestatic breast cancer and all 6 of my mother's paternal aunts died of the disease as well, 4 under age 50), we're obviously worried.   I underwent a prophylactic bi-lateral mastectomy in Dec. 06 and had my ovaries/tubes removed in Feb. 07 and I also have a 12 year old daughter. Any information you could share would be wonderful.  Thank you.

[wschoops]

i went through a similar situation with a fibroadenoma when i was 18.  extensive breast cancer history in maternal side of my family (my uncle even had a tumor removed from his breast) caused the docs to perform a lumpectomy (after which i was told is was not cancerous) to completely eliminate the problem if there was one.  because of the family history they skipped a biospy and went straight for the whole thing.  fibroadenomas are fairly common, three girls i've known have had them in their teens.  fortunately, these usually are not recurring.  the best advice my doctor gave me was to keep up on my monthly self exams and get a jump on anything that seems off.  self-detection is the best prevention.  good luck!

[japdip]

Fibroadenomas are  benign breast tumors and are fairly common in the teen-age years. Usually they are left alone unless they are noted to be growing or are painful.. Frequent folloing by Ultrasound is fairly routine in these instances. Increased risk of breast cancer is usually based on first degree relatives of the pt.; mother, sister. In the case of Fibroadenoma if there are numerous complex tumors there is an increased risk of future breast cancer. The cause of these tumors is not relaly known but they are said to be related to Estrogen and sometimes even go away on their own. By the way, young males are also affected by these hormonal related breast lumps.  I don't think the Fibroadenoma should be of particular concern as far as your niece's future as this is pretty common among teens and pre-teens. There was a post on this Community a day or two ago regarding a 6 yr. old with a breast lump. Children seem to be maturing much earlier these days ...    Regards ...