While Danchura and her husband slept, the cat jumped onto the bed and slowly walked across her body. As the cat stepped on one of her breasts, Danchura was struck by an strong shot of pain.

A lump was discovered.

“I sort of went, ‘Oh geez, there’s definitely something wrong there,’” she said.

The cat was considered a hero by finding a cancerous tumour in Judy Danchura’s breast She made a doctor’s appointment,then there were the tests and ultimately the diagnosis of cancer.

Due to the early detection of the malignant tumour, and since she was able to start treatment right away, Danchura’s possibility of survival is estimated at 95 per cent.

She is grateful to the cat, which she has now adopted.

“I don’t know what my chances of survival would have been without him,” she said. “I know I’d certainly be far worse off.”

Danchura named the cat Sumo but likes to refer to him as her “furry four-footed angel.”

“I sometimes feel overwhelmed because I feel humbled,” she said. “I can’t understand why this animal turned up for me.”