Woman discovered cancerous lump thanks to her boob job

April 13, 2015  22:44

A mother-of-three has told of how a boob job saved her life – as she discovered she had cancer after knocking one of her newly-enlarged breasts.

Leza Davies, from Telford, Shropshire, believed breast feeding had left her chest saggy and thought implants would boost her confidence.

The 33-year-old saved up £4,000 to go from a 34A to a 34D and was pleased with her new look.

Then, in April 2012, she was sorting out some washing and knocked her right breast on a door frame because of its increased size.

She found a pea-sized lump, which hospital tests revealed was cancerous.

She began six months of chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy and surgery and is now in remission.

She says her implants saved her life, because as she didn't regularly check for lumps, without knocking her breast she might not have discovered the tumour until it was too late.

It was after breastfeeding her first baby Brayden, who is now 12, that Mrs Davies first decided she wanted a boob job.

'I was left with saggy breasts after feeding,' she said. 'There was just no tissue left, so I decided to get implants to restore my confidence.

'I thought they would improve how I felt about myself. I didn't know they would save my life too.'

Mrs Davies, a semi-permanent makeup technician, said she was happy with her new breasts after having the procedure, and settled down to life as a new mother.

She went on to have her daughter, Macy-Rayn, in 2010.  

But, three years ago she was sorting through some laundry when she caught her breast on the door frame.

Rubbing the sore area, she felt a pea-sized lump and her husband Tristan, 36, urged her to visit her GP.

Mrs Davies said: 'I was only 30 and didn't think it would be anything to worry about.

'I just went to put my mind at ease.

'The doctor referred me to hospital for further tests. I was told it was very unlikely to be anything sinister, but they wanted to be cautious.'

A few weeks later doctors advised her to have a lumpectomy test, and this confirmed she had cancer, which is extremely unusual in someone her age.

Mrs Davies describes the pure terror of being given such a diagnosis.

She said: 'I was devastated. I just kept crying thinking I was going to die and imagining my children growing up without me.'

That July, she began six months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes surrounding her breast.

She then had an operation to remove five lymph nodes containing cancerous cells, and afterwards doctors were confident she was in remission. 

However, they said the treatment would probably leave her unable to have more children.

She explained: 'Afterwards, they told me they'd got all the cancer but that I wouldn't have anymore children as a result of the treatment.

'I would have liked more, but I was already lucky enough to have one of each and was just so happy to be alive.

'All thanks to my boob job.'

However, she soon suspected she might be pregnant and took a test, which revealed she was, in fact expecting. 

Her daughter Araya-Maye, is now nine months old, sister to Brayden, 12 and Macy-Rayn, five.

She describes Araya-Maye as her 'second miracle'.

'The first is discovering the lump. It was less than a centimetre in size, so if I hadn't knocked my breast, I would never have felt it.'

'Who knows what would have happened? I never checked my breasts. I wouldn't in a million years have thought it was necessary at my age.

'I thought breast cancer was something that affected older women.

'Having implants was a confidence thing. I wanted to be able to wear a bikini and feel good about myself.

'But if they'd stayed the same size I would never have knocked them.

'My implants saved my life. I'd ask all women – however young – to check their breasts.'

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter


 
  • Video
 
 
  • Event calendar
 
 
  • Archive