“Doctor, I want relief from these breast lumps. But I’m worried about scars.”
A young woman came to me with multiple fibroadenomas—benign breast lumps. She had pain around the lumps, but another concern mattered just as much: would treatment leave a visible scar or change the shape of her breast?
Her concerns were an important part of choosing her treatment.
We went ahead with cryoablation, a minimally invasive procedure that uses a thin probe, guided by ultrasound, to freeze the fibroadenoma. The treated tissue gradually shrinks as the body absorbs it over time.
At follow-up, her lumps were barely palpable, and the pain she had experienced around them had resolved. Her breast contour was preserved, without the incision needed for open surgical removal.
For her, the outcome meant relief from pain while preserving something she had been deeply concerned about—her breast’s natural appearance.
This October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let’s also make room for conversations about benign breast lumps. A lump may not be cancer, but the discomfort and worry it causes still deserve attention.
Not every fibroadenoma needs treatment. Many can be monitored. For selected, biopsy-confirmed fibroadenomas, cryoablation may offer an option with minimal scarring. A small mark at the probe-entry site is possible, and results vary.
Get a breast lump assessed. Understand what it is. Then discuss the options suited to you.