Selina Moss-Davies, a 43-year-old finance worker from Rochester, Kent, credits a hug from her mother with saving her life after it led to the discovery of an aggressive breast cancer tumour. In March 2011, Selina found a large lump on her breast but was reassured by her GP that it was nothing to worry about. However, during a hug, her mother Pauline felt the lump through her t-shirt and took immediate action, booking an appointment at a breast clinic without Selina's knowledge.
The Diagnosis
At the clinic, doctors diagnosed a 38mm aggressive grade three tumour and revealed that Selina carried the faulty BRCA1 gene mutation, which increases the risk of breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. Selina said: "My mum would hug me and because of where the tumour 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 mum wasn't this way."
Treatment and Fertility Concerns
Selina, a mother of two, was initially not alarmed, thinking the lump was a benign fibroadenoma. The reality hit in June 2011 when she received her biopsy results at the Peggy Wood Breast Centre at Maidstone Hospital. She recalled: "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."
Doctors informed her that chemotherapy would need to start immediately and could affect her fertility. Freezing her eggs was an option but would delay treatment, which Selina ruled out. She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, losing her hair in the first week and suffering from fatigue, loss of taste, nosebleeds, and bone pain. By the second session, the tumour shrank from 38mm to 80mm.
Surgery and Recovery
Four weeks after completing chemotherapy in November 2011, Selina had a nine-hour double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Shortly after, she learned she had achieved a complete pathological response and was cancer-free — a milestone she has celebrated for 15 years. She is now a proud mother to Grayson, nine, and Gia, seven, with her husband Colin.
Selina has since had her implants replaced several times and underwent a full hysterectomy in 2021. She currently takes HRT to reduce ovarian cancer risk but feels well overall. She 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."
Raising Awareness
Selina now participates in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life events with her family. She said: "Race for life is one of my favourite 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."
