Hello, my 8 year old boy has a mass under his left nipple. It started around January of this year. We took him to the doctor and she attributed it at the time to hormones and told us it should go away within 4 weeks. It is now April and the mass is still there, and maybe even gotten a little bigger. It is soft and it is also visible from the outside, like he had a little "breast". It's very strange. He is not showing any signs of puberty at all. He's very skinny and healthy otherwise. We try to eat all organic food as much as possible at home, so I don't think he's too exposed to hormones in meat. I've tried searching the internet for some answers, but have not been successful. I'm taking him to the doctor today and they are finally going to run some blood tests and then maybe refer us to an endocrinologist.
I just thought I would ask here to see if you have seen or heard of something like this. If any of you moms have any insight, I would love to hear it! Thank you!
It could very easily be a fatty cyst or a regular cyst - do not stress out about cancer - that is VERY VERY unlikely. If you're uncomfortable about it go to another doctor or an endocrinologist. It's probably not something serious - but even cosmetically it should be looked at. Summer is coming and he's going to want to be at the beach or in the pool and the boys will make him miserable if he's got a "breast" or anything close. Good luck!
It could be just a fatty deposit...Glad you are taking him to the doc to have it reevaluated. Does your son have any pain associated with it? If not, it is probably nothing serious. Keep us posted!
M., My son too had a small mass that resembled your son's. The dr also informed us that is was due to hormones - as long as it was not painful we were told not to be alarmed. Even was told that it can occur under both nipples instead of just one. They never told us of a timeframe that it would go away - but just that it would. And it did. I'm pretty sure it was around the age of 8 or 9. Alex is smalled framed too - he is 14 now. I hope your test results confirm nothing serious.
It sounds similar to what my daughter had when she was 7 1/2 yo. She had a lipoma ( a harmless fatty tissue tumor) on her neck. For aesthetic reasons a plastic surgeon at CHOP removed it via liposuction. Best of luck! I know how stressful this is.
I had a scary lump on my leg (and it's still there) that I finally saw a doctor about. Solid, round bump. Turns out at some point I bumped that leg and it caused a calcification there. It's harmless, but I'll always feel it in that spot. Can he think of a time when maybe he was hit in that spot on his chest?
Anyway, it can be hard to diagnose online and we're not medical experts (at least I'm not), so it's good to get that second opinion from a doctor. I just wanted you to know there's potential it could be harmless. I was sure I had some awful cancer and it was nothing.
I think any mass or lump should be investigated further. I'm surprised the doctor didn't want to biopsy it right away. I'm glad to hear you're having it checked out now.
I agree with mallory...I would personally go see a dermatologist.. they are covered under insurance.
My roommate's brother had breast cancer that was a lump. He was older, about 17 or so, but still had to have it removed and I think even do chemo.
Now, that is the most drastic thing, but it could be anything from a fatty deposit, a calcified bump like CA suggested, cyst, tumor... definitely get a second opinion.
I would absolutely get a second opinion on this.
