Selina Moss-Davies, 43, was diagnosed with breast cancer after her mum made an appointment without telling her10:04, 29 May 2026A woman credits a hug from her mother with saving her life, after it prompted her to seek a second opinion — ultimately revealing she had breast cancer. Selina Moss-Davies, now 43, discovered a large lump on her breast in March 2011, but her GP reassured her there was nothing to be concerned about.‌It was only when her mum Pauline felt the lump during an embrace that she took matters into her own hands, booking then 28 year old Selina an appointment at a breast clinic without delay. The finance worker from Rochester, Kent, was subsequently informed that the lump was a 38mm aggressive grade three tumour — something she believes she may never have uncovered had it not been for her mother's instinct.‌She was also told she carried the faulty BRCA1 gene mutation, which places her at heightened risk of developing several other cancers, including 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."Selina, a mother of two, admits she wasn't initially alarmed by the lump, assuming it was simply a fibroadenoma — a benign growth. The gravity of her situation only truly hit home in June 2011, when she walked into a room at the Peggy Wood Breast Centre at Maidstone Hospital to receive her biopsy results.‌It was there that doctors delivered the devastating news that she had breast cancer, and that she carried the faulty BRCA gene, which would place her at heightened risk of developing other cancers in the future, reports Kent Live.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."‌During that same appointment, she was also informed that chemotherapy would need to begin straight away, and that this could potentially leave her unable to have children. Freezing her eggs was an option, but it would have meant delaying treatment — something Selina ruled out completely.She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, losing all her hair within the very first week, alongside a loss of taste, extreme fatigue, nosebleeds and severe bone pain. Yet by her second session, the tumour had already 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 mum, 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."Just four weeks after completing her final chemotherapy session in November, Selina underwent a gruelling nine-hour double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Shortly afterwards, she received the life-changing news that she had achieved a complete pathological response and was free of cancer — a milestone she has now celebrated for 15 years. Selina is now a proud mum to Grayson, nine, and Gia, seven, alongside her husband of 11 years, Colin.‌Having had her implants replaced on several occasions and a full hysterectomy in 2021, she currently takes HRT to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer, yet says she feels remarkably well overall.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."‌The determined mum has since been taking part in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life events alongside her friends and family, including her children, and the family will once again be attending the event in Maidstone this year.Selina 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.Article continues below"I campaign for this kind of work because it needs to continue. I have children and its important to me that that the next generation are protected."