A mother’s hug has been credited as helping save her 28-year-old daughter’s life.
Selina Moss-Davies, from Rochester, had been assured by her doctor the lump in her breast was nothing to worry about.
Selina at the end of her chemoptherapy treatment
But when Selina’s mum hugged her, she felt the lump and insisted she went for a second opinion.
Selina had felt in no rush to seek further medical help – she was enjoying a busy life, in a new relationship and a travelling abroad with her job.
However, her own mum’s insistence changed Selina’s life, later leading to a shock diagnosis of a faulty gene running in her family.
“I wasn’t concerned at all, but my mum, Pauline, booked an appointment for me and pretty much forced me to go,” she said.
Selina saw a different GP who referred her to the breast clinic for further checks.
Selina with husband Colin and children Gia and Grayson
“My dad’s mum had breast cancer when she was 39,” she explained. “I was too young for a mammogram so they did a biopsy but still there was no sign there was anything to be worried about.
“But a week later I was hit with the most unexpected news. The doctor said ‘I’m very sorry, you have breast cancer’.
Selina was told she had a four centimetre tumour – an aggressive grade three, triple negative breast cancer – and treatment needed to start immediately, at the end of June.
But there was a further shock to come.
“The doctor started talking about genetic testing, because of my paternal grandmother,” Selina added.
“They mentioned the faulty BRCA gene – I’d never heard of it and didn’t know what they were talking about.
It felt like this would be chasing me my entire life.
“In some ways that was bigger than the breast cancer.”
BRCA genes increase people’s risk of developing certain cancers including breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancers.
Selina was referred to Guys Hospital in London and five days later, she had the genetic testing.
“I was told there was a 70% chance I would get cancer again, which felt barbaric,” she said.
“It felt like this would be chasing me my entire life.
“At that point, I began to understand I would have some choices to make.”
But there was one decision she had to make immediately– whether to freeze her eggs.
“I’d always wanted to be a mum and the thought that I might not be, was more upsetting than the potential to not survive this,” she added.
“The oncologist was lovely but explained I needed to make a pretty quick decision. I rang my boyfriend, Colin.
“He said ‘let’s deal with the here and now. It’s cancer, it’s aggressive and the tumour is big – let’s start the chemo’.
“And that’s what we did.”
Selina and her children at a past Race for Life event
Happily, the couple now have two children, Grayson, nine, and Gia, seven, both conceived naturally.
“I didn’t know anyone who had had cancer and had become pregnant,” Selina said.
“And even now, there are so many young women who still don’t know that you can survive cancer and have children.”
After a painful six-week wait, Selina finally got confirmation that she did carry the faulty BRCA1 gene mutation
However, there was also good news – the chemotherapy treatment had worked and the tumour had shrunk dramatically.
Selina was treated with Docetaxel, a drug Cancer Research UK helped run clinical trials on.
But then there was another big life choice facing her – whether to have a double mastectomy.
“It was a choice, and a serious one, but I knew I had to go for the double mastectomy,” she said.
Selina was in the early days of her relationship with Colin and was worried how her treatment would affect it.
“I’d only been with Colin for five months, and I knew he was ‘the one’.
“I was determined to get through it and have a life after cancer. But I didn’t want him to stay out of pity.
“But he said ‘we’re in this together’, and we were.”
The couple have now been married 11 years.
Selina had the mastectomy and breast reconstruction in a 10-hour operation in November.
It felt like something out of a horror film
Now 43, Selina, who works in finance, said: “It was traumatising at the time.
“It felt like something out of a horror film. But I think I found it more acceptable because I’d had breast cancer.”
“I believe strongly in medical science. I’m 15 years clear this year.
“I’ve taken part in a clinical trial and joined a study.
“It’s really important to do them – you have to think about the next generation.
“And although I do carry guilt about potentially passing the faulty BRCA gene on, thankfully because of the work that Cancer Research UK did to identify the gene, the next generation can now be tested and be ready for any future decisions that might have to be made.”
Selina and her family are big supporters of Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life.
The mum-of-two first took part 13 years ago, and the children have since joined her.
They will be at the Maidstone event at Mote Park again this year.
“The children love to do the Pretty Muddy Kids event on the Saturday and then I do the 10k on the Sunday – I love it!” she said.
People are being asked to go ‘all in’ against cancer this spring by signing up for Race for Life events taking place in Kent. To find an event near you or to sign up, click here.
Money raised at Race for Life enables scientists to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancers.
Events taking place in Kent this summer include those at Folkestone, Herne Bay, Maidstone, Margate, and Tunbridge Wells.