Mother survives breast cancer thanks to random Facebook post

A MOTHER’S life was saved when she stumbled across a Facebook post that helped her spot a life-threatening disease. Now she wants to warn other women too.

A MOTHER’S life was saved when she stumbled across a Facebook post that helped her spot a cancerous lump in her right breast.

Jayne Dandy, 51, says she is “eternally grateful” to cancer survivor Hayley Browning, whose detailed social-media post about an alternative self-examination tip led to her being diagnosed.

Browning had always followed the advice of doctors to check for lumps while standing up in the shower.

But she felt what proved to be a cancerous lump while lying down at home only for it to disappear when she stood up — and urged women to do the same.

Jayne Dandy survived breast cancer thanks to Hayley Browning's Facebook post. Picture: Facebook

Her potentially lifesaving tip went viral in February 2017 and was seen by hundreds of thousands of women across the world.

For Dandy, the tip proved vital when it popped up on her timeline after being shared by her Weights Watchers coach on the same night she found her lump in her right breast.

Dandy’s world came crashing down when just a week later a doctor confirmed her biggest fear — she had contracted an aggressive form of breast cancer despite displaying no symptoms.

Dandy says the heartbreaking moment came just as she was at “the top of her game” after turning 50 last year.

After surgeons performed a mastectomy, she was then started on an intense course of chemotherapy, which finished on the same day as her husband Steve’s birthday.

Dandy, who lives in England, recently got the all-clear following a scan and mammogram.

But she admits that she often wonders what might have been had she not read Browning’s message.

She said: “I really think it was fate.

“I am and will be eternally grateful to Hayley Browning for sharing her story on Facebook that fateful day.

“In reality, if it wasn’t for Hayley, I wouldn’t have checked myself in the way she suggested.

Browning after being treated for her breast cancer. Picture: Facebook

“I contacted Hayley straight away to thank her for sharing her story and to let her know that her post had potentially saved my life.”

“It’s a sobering thought to think that but for that one post, things could have ended with a very different outcome for me.

“This is why I feel it’s so important to get Hayley’s #laidbacklumps message out there and encourage people to check themselves regularly and potentially save lives — it worked for me.”

She added: “I never felt unwell at all and I was at the top of my game and had just turned 50.

“I was a non-smoker, didn’t drink alcohol and was extremely active. I didn’t feel sore or ill at the time, which is the odd thing.

“The surgeon at first thought it was a cyst and said he would have it drained that same day.

“He sent me next door to have a mammogram and then I went in for an ultrasound. Within a week of that I was called back and told at that point it was grade-three breast cancer.

Jayne Dandy. Picture: Facebook

Browning, who now works for Breast Cancer Care, had the BRCA2 gene mutation that caused her cancer.

The cancer survivor says she is “overwhelmed with emotion” after being contacted by Dandy to say her post helped save her life.

Browning said: “It is absolutely incredible — I feel overwhelmed with emotion really, it’s hard to find the words to express how thrilled I am for Jayne.

“When I wrote the post, I never imagined the reach it would have and it’s really thanks to every single person who shared it and helped get the message out there.

“Not only is it fantastic that 30 people contacted me to let me know they had found their lump because of my post and have since had the treatment for breast cancer.

“But it’s brilliant that so many millions of people are now more aware of the importance of checking their breasts because of my post, especially checking lying down.”

Browning is now climbing Mount Snowdon in Wales to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.