Mom’s hug led to daughter’s breast cancer diagnosis

By Isobel Williams

A woman says a hug from her mom saved her life after it pushed her to get a second opinion — which revealed she had breast cancer.

Selina Moss-Davies, now 43, says she discovered a large lump on her breast in March 2011 — but her doctor assured her it was nothing to worry about.

However, when her mom Pauline felt the lump during a hug, she decided to push then 28-year-old Selina to get a second opinion — booking her an appointment at a breast clinic.

The finance worker from Rochester, Kent, was later told the lump was a 38mm aggressive grade three tumor, which she believes she may have never discovered if it wasn't for her mom.

She was also told that she was carrying the faulty BRCA1 gene mutation, which puts her at risk of developing other cancers including breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers.

Selina said: "My mom would hug me and because of where the tumor was — it was quite high up on my breast — she could feel it through my t-shirt.

"There was nothing about it that concerned me but she actually went ahead and made an appointment without telling me. Thank God she did.

"I can't think about what would have happened if my mom wasn't this way."

Selina, a mom of two, says she wasn't worried about the lump initially as she believed it was just a fibroadenoma — a benign lump.

The seriousness of the situation didn't click until June 2011, when she walked into a room at the Peggy Wood Breast Centre at Maidstone Hospital to get the results from her biopsy.

It was here that doctors told her she had breast cancer, and that she was carrying the faulty BRCA gene which would put her at risk of getting other cancers in the future.

Selina said: "I just felt panic rising. He said it was breast cancer and I can't even describe the feeling. It is like you have been rammed into a brick wall.

"I had never heard about this gene. I remember being gobsmacked that this even existed. It terrified me.

"I was very isolated. I was lucky I have an incredible support network, but I felt like I was on a planet by myself watching everybody else's lives move on while I was frozen in time."

At this meeting, she also received the news that her chemotherapy would start immediately, and this might mean she would never be able to have children.

It was possible to freeze her eggs, but this would mean delaying her treatment, which Selina said was not an option.

More from this section

14 science-backed tips to recover after a bad night’s sleep

Should you get a second medical opinion? A surgeon explains why doing so can make you a more confident patient

+3

Survey reveals Americans’ most outrageous excuses for canceling plans

She had six rounds of chemotherapy, and lost all her hair immediately in the first week, as well as a loss of taste, fatigue, nose bleeds and extreme bone pain.

But, by her second session, the lump had shrunk to 80mm.

Selina added: "Chemotherapy is terrifying but I just wanted to get in there and get going as quickly as possible.

"The fertility conversation was awful. I knew at some point I wanted to be a mom, I love children. I was heartbroken.

"There were dark times with this where I thought I wasn't going to survive it. To question your mortality at 28 is a terrible thing."

Four weeks after her final chemo session in November, Selina went in for a nine-hour double mastectomy operation with immediate reconstruction.

And, shortly after, she was told that she had a complete pathological response and was clear of cancer, which she now has been for 15 years.

Selina now has two children Grayson, nine, and Gia, seven, with her husband of 11 years Colin.

She had her implants replaced a few times, a full hysterectomy in 2021, and is now on HRT to protect against the ovarian cancer risk, but says she overall feels very healthy.

Selina said: "It is something that I will always carry with me. There is always a risk and I am very aware of that, but I have found ways to cope. I don't allow it to impede on my day to day life.

"It was important to me to get through this with a really good life ahead of me, not just exist. I am incredibly lucky."

Now, the mom has been taking part in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life events with her friends and family, including her kids.

The family will be at the event in Maidstone again this year.

Selina said: "Race for Life is one of my favorite things to do. It raises lots of money for Cancer Research UK, who were at the forefront of the BRCA discovery that has changed things.

"I campaign for this kind of work because it needs to continue. I have children and it's important to me that the next generation are protected."