'My Implants Saved My Life': Mother Reveals How Boob Job Alerted Her To Breast Cancer
'My Implants Saved My Life': Mother Reveals How Boob Job Alerted Her To Breast Cancer
Natasha Hinde— The Huffington Post UK
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A mother-of-three has revealed how a boob job helped her to detect breast cancer and, as a result, saved her life.
Leza Davies-Brown, from Telford, Shropshire, was sorting through some washing when she knocked one of her newly enlarged breasts against a door frame.
The 33-year-old was then alerted to a small pea-sized lump on her breast, which she later found was cancerous.
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Leza Davies-Brown (centre) pictured with friends
Davies-Brown, who is a semi-permanent makeup technician, wanted to have her breasts increased from a 34A to a 34D after she found that breastfeeding had left them sagging.
She saved up £4,000 to pay for the confidence-boosting breast implants and was thrilled with her new look.
"I thought they would improve how I felt about myself. I didn't know they would save my life too," she said.
Around 55,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year. Just over 80% of breast cancers occur in women who are over the age of 50.
Nearly half of all cases are diagnosed in people in the 50-69 age group.
Symptoms of the condition include a lump or area of thickened tissue in either breast, a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts, nipple discharge, a lump or swelling in either armpits or a rash on or around the nipple.
Davies-Brown noticed a small lump on her breast in April 2012 after knocking it on a door frame while she was stepping over some washing.
Just 30 years old at the time, she'd never really bothered to check her breasts for lumps before as she considered herself too young to develop anything serious - the risk of developing breast cancer under the age of 29 is one in 2,000, according to Public Health England.
"I didn't really think anything as I was young and very healthy," she tells HuffPost UK Lifestyle. "I would never have expected it to be cancer."
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Leza Davies-Brown (centre) with fellow breast cancer survivors Kate Evans (left) and Trudi Perks (right)
Husband Tristan, 36, urged his partner to get the lump checked and, after undergoing various hospital examinations including a lumpectomy test, Davies-Brown was told that she had breast cancer.
"I was devastated," she said. "I just kept crying thinking I was going to die and imagining my children growing up without me."
Shortly after her diagnosis, the beauty technician began six months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But was dealt another hefty blow after being told that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes surrounding her breast.
After undergoing surgery to have five cancerous lymph nodes removed, doctors revealed they were confident she was in remission.
But, her health came at a price, as they advised Davies-Brown that the treatment could have left her infertile.
Story continues below...
Breast Cancer Signs And Treatment
What Are The Symptoms?(01 of10)
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"A new painless, firm breast lump with irregular margins is a potential symptom of breast cancer," says Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, a breast cancer researcher at the Mayo Clinic. "The cancer diagnosis is confirmed following a biopsy of the lump." She notes that usually, women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer are healthy and don't feel sick at all. (credit:LarsZahnerPhotography via Getty Images)
Other Symptoms(02 of10)
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Another potential symptom/sign of breast cancer, Pruthi notes, is a new onset of persistent redness on the skin overtop the breast with an orange peel appearance. This would also need a biopsy to confirm a diagnosis of breast cancer. (credit:Image Source via Getty Images)
Metastatic Cancer Symptoms(03 of10)
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"If the cancer is very advanced (metastatic) then the symptoms may also include weight loss, bone pain, headaches, nausea and persistent cough," Pruthi says. (credit:pamela burley via Getty Images)
What Are The Risk Factors?(04 of10)
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Some commonly associated risk factors, Pruthi says, are menstruation before age 11, menstruation after age 54, a first pregnancy after age 35 and a family history of relatives diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer. (credit:AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Are There Any Lifestyle Risk Factors?(05 of10)
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"There is evidence in the literature that obesity after menopause, lack of regular exercise, consuming greater than more or more alcoholic beverages daily, and a high fat diet can all be associated with a higher breast cancer risk," Pruthi notes. But, she points out, "women need to know that any woman can get breast cancer even in the absence of any of these risk factors." (credit:Adrian Samson via Getty Images)
Can I Eat Anything To Prevent It?(06 of10)
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There are no specific types of diets, Pruthi says, but rather women are encouraged to eat fruits, vegetables, fibre, and minimize their alcohol and fat intake, as well as get regular exercise. (credit:lola1960 via Getty Images)
How Do Doctors Determine Treatment?(07 of10)
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"The most current treatment of breast cancer has taken on a individualized approach and is dependent on the biology or aggressive features of the breast cancer," Pruthi explains. "Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and this means that are many sub-types and different degrees of aggressiveness. So staging, which typically takes into account common prognostic features such as tumour size and if lymph nodes are involved, are no longer the only factors doctors use to determine treatment options." (credit:Christopher Futcher via Getty Images)
So What Do They Look At?(08 of10)
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"Today the biology of the tumour is also characterized by molecular markers (also known as predictive markers) such as if the estrogen or progesterone receptor is positive or negative and if the HER 2 protein is positive or negative," she says. "This helps decide who will benefit from a specific chemotherapy regimen, hormonal medications known as antiestrogens or who may need both chemotherapy and hormonal treatment." (credit:BluePlanetEarth via Getty Images)
What About Preventative Mastectomies?(09 of10)
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"Preventive mastectomy is an option for women at very high risk for developing breast cancer because they are BRCA 1 or 2 gene positive or if someone has hereditary predisposition to getting breast cancer but chooses not to have the genetic testing done," Pruthi says. "It is prudent that women who are considering this surgery know their family history in detail. Based on the moderate or strong family history, your doctor would recommend you meet with a genetic counselor to go over the family pedigree and help decide who should test for the breast cancer gene, when to test and how to interpret the genetic test results before proceeding with this preventive surgery." (credit:Jesús Jaime Mota via Getty Images)
Are Other Preventative Treatments Available?(10 of10)
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"High risk women who have had precancerous breast biopsies or strong family history may also be eligible to take preventive medications such as tamoxifen, raloxifene or exemestane to reduce breast cancer risk," Pruthi adds. (credit:art-4-art via Getty Images)
Davies-Brown, who has one son Brayden, now 12, and a daughter, Macy-Rayn, now five, was disappointed by the news. But was equally thrilled that she had been given the all-clear.
"I was just so happy to be alive. All thanks to my boob job," she said.
Getting her life back on track, she was soon dealt some good news after finding out she'd beaten the odds and was pregnant with her third child.
Araya-Maye is now nine months old and Davies-Brown describes her as her 'second miracle'.
Meanwhile the first miracle was discovering the lump in the first place. Especially as the chances of discovering the lump, which was less than a centimetre in size, were slim.
"My implants saved my life," she added. "I'd ask all women – however young – to check their breasts."