A woman may get more than one or two cysts at a time and have them recur over several years. A cyst may feel like a small, water-filled bag if located near the skin or more solid if beneath more breast tissue. There is a possibility that the cyst can come back after aspiration. Fibroadenomas are usually harmless, marble-like lumps of tissue. They are moveable and are more common in young women than in older women, although women on hormone replacement therapy may be susceptible.
Fibroadenomas usually appear clearly on mammogram or ultrasound.
They do not always require removal, but they need to be verified as fibroadenomas either by fine needle aspiration or biopsy. In women over 40 they are usually removed. Pseudolumps are lumpy areas that cannot be identified clearly as cysts or fibroadenomas or cancers. Observation over several monthly cycles and evaluation by a skilled breast specialist is recom-mended to rule out cysts, fibroadenomas or cancer. The only way to positively identify what a lump is comprised of is by examination of cells or tissue from the lump in a laboratory.