Woman Says a Hug from Her Mom Led to ‘Terrifying’ Breast Cancer Diagnosis: ‘I’m Incredibly Lucky’

“I can’t think about what would have happened,” Selina Moss-Davies said

NEED TO KNOW

• Selina Moss-Davies credits her mother’s persistence for her early breast cancer diagnosis at age 28
• She underwent chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and later a hysterectomy due to carrying the BRCA gene
• Now cancer-free for 15 years, she raises awareness through Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life events

A woman is crediting a hug from her mother for leading to her breast cancer diagnosis and saving her life. 

In March 2011, Selina Moss-Davies — now 43 and a finance worker from Rochester, England — was just 28 when she felt a lump in her breast. She visited her general practitioner but was assured that she had nothing to worry about.

Soon after, her mother, Pauline, felt the lump while hugging her and immediately pushed her to seek a second opinion.

“My mum 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,” she told Southwest News Service. “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 mum wasn't this way.”

During the appointment, Selina had the lump biopsied and the results came back soon after. It wasn't until she was on her way back to the hospital to hear the news that she started feeling nervous. Once there, doctors informed her that the lump was an aggressive grade 3 tumor — a mass that she believes she might not have caught if it weren't for her mother's persistence.

Selina was officially diagnosed with breast cancer. She was also told that she carried the BRCA gene, which put her at risk of developing other forms of cancer as well.

“I just felt panic rising. [The doctor] said it was breast cancer and I can't even describe the feeling. It is like you have been rammed into a brick wall,” she recalled. “I had never heard about this gene. I remember being gobsmacked that this even existed. It terrified me.”

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“I was very isolated,” she added. “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.”

Selina began six rounds of chemotherapy immediately. It took a toll on her body — she lost her hair and her sense of taste, and also experienced fatigue, nosebleeds and severe bone pain.

“Chemotherapy is terrifying but I just wanted to get in there and get going as quickly as possible,” she said, noting that she didn't even have time to freeze her eggs before treatment and was “heartbroken” at the thought of her fertility being impacted.

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

After chemotherapy, Selina underwent a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction. Subsequent scans found no evidence of disease.

She has now been cancer-free for 15 years, and was thrilled to be able to have two children — son Grayson, 9, and daughter Gia, 7 — with her husband Colin.

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In 2021, Selina underwent a full hysterectomy due to the BRCA gene putting her at risk of ovarian cancer. Although there will always be concerns, she said she feels very healthy overall and praises her mother for putting her in a position to get treatment early.

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

This year, Selina told the outlet that she will participate in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life event alongside her friends and family, hoping to raise awareness and funds for the cause.

“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,” she said. “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.”

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