Signs and symptoms of breast cancer: How mum’s chance act led to ‘shocking’ diagnosis after doctor told her ‘it’s all good’ | 7NEWSFollow Lifestyle on TwitterFollow Lifestyle on FacebookFollow Lifestyle on InstagramEmail LifestyleShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail UsChevron Right IconChevron Right IconChevron Right IconFollow Lifestyle on TwitterFollow Lifestyle on FacebookFollow Lifestyle on InstagramEmail Lifestyle

In October 2022, mum of two Renata Mosso felt a lump in her breast.

The fun-loving, active, 44-year-old had never been overly worried about her health but that night she lay awake, nervous.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Renata fight’s for her health.

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The next morning, Renata, who moved to Australia from Brazil in 2009, was outside the doctors’ surgery before it had even opened.

“I’m not that type of person who runs to the doctor,” Renata, a midwife, tells 7Life.

“So when I first felt the lump that night - I accidentally felt it whilst in the shower - I didn’t sleep.

“And I felt strange because I don’t usually get overly concerned with health in general.”

The mum to nine-year-old Rafael and four-year-old Eloisa received a referral to have a mammogram.

The scan ruled out cancer and Renata says her doctor told her “It’s all good” and sent her off.

A wave of relief washed over her.

“In my mind, if the mammogram says it’s all good, it means it’s not cancer - fantastic - whatever it is, it’s not the worst,” she recalls.

But her thoughts turned to other possible causes for the lump, including breast implants she had received 15 years earlier.

“I thought maybe there’s something wrong with the silicone or maybe it’s just a cyst,” she says.

By chance, Renata asked her doctor for the mammogram report to take home and read herself.

She noticed that, even though the report stated there was “no evidence of cancer”, it also said the lump “should be further investigated”.

“The doctor never mentioned it,” she says.

The next day, Renata sought a second opinion, and begged for a referral for a magnetic resonance imaging test, or MRI.

“I needed to know what it was,” she says.

Diagnosis

The mum had to wait until January to undergo the MRI, but it only took two days to receive the results.

There was a “high suspicion of malignancy”.

She was then referred for a second mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy - and a week later she had all three.

But during the first of those tests - the ultrasound - the technician indicated that Renata had cancer.

Renata says she was told her breast implants would need to be removed.

“It’ll be best for you to do it as soon as possible, because of your cancer,” Renata says the technician had advised.

The mum says everything then “faded” and, from that point, she “couldn’t hear much”.

“I don’t know how I remained calm and just kept talking to her,” Renata recalls.

“It was a massive shock – it was the most horrible feeling.

“I was shaking – it was the worst.”

Renata says she was told the MRI results had already determined that she had cancer, and that the biopsy was to define the type.

In fact, she had advanced breast cancer - which had already spread to the lymph nodes in her armpits.

Treatment

Renata will need to undergo 16 sessions of chemotherapy over five months.

Once complete, she will then require surgery.

This will either be a mastectomy or a more localised operation to remove the remaining lump.

It’s something that’s terrifying the mum.

“I’m super active, I love my freedom, I’m always out and about and doing things,” she says.

“The first round of chemo, it has the nickname ‘The Red Devil’, I’ve heard people can’t even get out of bed, they can’t brush their teeth.

“That scares me because I like to do things and be out and about.”

Renata will also lose her hair, something she is also finding “scary and stressful”.

And when it came to telling her children, she was met with similar worry from her son.

“I didn’t say anything to Elo (Eloisa) yet as she is too small,” the mum says.

“(For) Rafa I said, ‘Mum has a lump on the breast that the doctor said is made by bad cells and I need to go under a treatment to kill the bad cell. I might get a bit tired and lose my hair’.

“He just said, ‘I don’t want you to lose your hair’, and kept playing.

“I didn’t say the word ‘cancer’, as he heard those who get cancers die.”

Renata’s fight

Despite the difficult road ahead, Renata is remaining positive.

“I’m 100 per cent sure I will be cured,” she says.

“I know I am strong - I keep going, I don’t give up.

“It doesn’t mean that emotionally, deep inside, I’m not going to feel it.

“If a strong feeling of being scared or being sad comes, I will acknowledge it, I will accept it, but I will try to not feed those feelings for too long.

“If you feel ok emotionally, everything gets a little bit easier.”

With Renata ready to start chemotherapy mid-February, a GoFundMe has been set up by her friend to ease the financial pressure.

They’re also hoping it will assist with future treatments not covered by Medicare, and will help bring her mum from Brazil to look after her children.

“If you ever met her you know how full of happiness and full of life she is,” wrote her friend, also named Renata.

“She has been so strong and brave in receiving this sad news, and I am sure she will win this battle.”

Renata’s message

For the first time, Renata has shared her story online in the hope other women will be inspired to advocate for their health.

“People trust doctors because they ‘know better than us’,” she says.

“So I don’t think it’s people’s fault that they might not ask the questions or go get the second opinion.

“(My) first doctor said ‘your mammogram is all good’ and that is it, ‘bye’.

“We need to be aware that we need to ask why and go and get a second opinion.”

Along her journey, Renata was told mammograms don’t screen for all types of cancer.

“The only way for women to be completely covered is to do the three - MRI, ultrasound and mammogram,” she suggests.

“None of them alone will screen for everything.”

Renata is ready to face “the storm” she knows is coming.

“I’ve cried a lot, I am f****** scared BUT trying to have my happy day-to-day life before the storm hits me for a little while,” she wrote.

“The road will be bumpy but I came to: evolve, love, enjoy life and stay healthy with my kids and beloved ones.”

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