Dear Wise Ones who have had more encounters with breast anomalies than I,

My friend whose picky-eater 19-month-old DD is depending a lot on her milk
asked me to post:

"I have a Lactation Adenoma near my areola that the breast specialist said
would need to be biopsied to rule out cancer, but that I need to wean
completely to do that. If they did the biopsy while I am nursing, I may
wind up with a fistula, and the biopsy place wouldn't ever heal, and I
would have milk gushing out all the time as it's being made."

"Also, the breast specialist is not pressuring me to wean. She just made it
clear that it doesn't look like cancer, I am low risk, and that she cannot
guarantee me it's not cancer without doing the biopsy. She wants to see me
every 3 months. I have had two ultrasounds on it. I will be having one next
week again to see if it has changed."

"I have been nursing and/or pregnant for the last 4 years. My cycle is
starting to return. Baby is 19 months old and still relies almost
exclusively on breastmilk as nutrition."

Please tell me:  How likely, really, is the development of a fistula from a
biopsy?  Is there some other diagnostic procedure she should be
investigating?  How concerned would YOU be about this mother's risk of
dangerous malignancy?

Thanks,
Ruth Piatak
-- 
Ruth Piatak, BA, MS, LLLL, IBCLC
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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