When Andrew Beckett entered the Specsavers Opticas store in Santa Ponça, Mallorca for an eye test, he did not expect what was to come next. After noticing that his vision had become blurred, he suspected that it was due to age and decided to book an optician’s appointment to see if he needed some new glasses.

During the sight test the optician immediately suspected that there was a problem with his eye and advised him to go straight to casualty to have it checked out in more detail.

Within 15 minutes of arriving at the hospital on a Saturday morning, Andrew was seen by the doctor and then referred to an eye specialist. The following Tuesday he underwent a series of tests to find out what was causing the problem with his eye.

After a long week of waiting for the results it was confirmed that unfortunately Mr Beckett had cancer of the eye and he was quickly admitted to hospital for an operation to remove his eye. Mr Beckett then needed to undergo a series of follow up appointments including numerous appointments with a prosthetic eye optician.

“I would strongly advise anyone who experiences problems with their eyes or vision to visit their opticians for a sight test right away. Regular tests are important and if you are experiencing problems it is vital that you get it checked out sooner rather than later, as it can risk your health and even your life. I had been for an eye test only last year and everything showed normal, if I had ignored my symptoms then the situation could have become a lot worse for me.”

There is no history of cancer in Mr Beckett’s family and he visited the opticians regularly for routine eye tests. Cancer of the eye is a rare condition and one which often comes with little or no symptoms, so it was a very lucky that he decided to get an eye test when he did.

There are two main types of cancer which can be found inside the eye, Primary Intraocular Cancer which starts inside the eyeball and Metastic Cancer, which starts somewhere else in the body and then spreads to the eye.

Some of the symptoms of eye cancer can include; loss of vision, seeing flashing lights, a dark spot on the iris which gradually grows, a visible lump on your eyelid and pain in and around the eye.

Mr Beckett has now fully recovered from his cancer and has been fitted with a prosthetic eye. “I am extremely grateful to both Specsavers and Son Espases Hospital, for the service which I received.  They were both excellent, if I had not gone to the opticians when I did, the cancer would have spread and endangered my life. I highly recommend Specsavers Opticas to the English speaking community in Mallorca.”

There are many other conditions which can be picked up by a simple visit to the opticians, including diabetes, brain tumours and glaucoma. Specsavers Opticas are currently offering free sight tests, to book an appointment at the Mallorca store contact 871 964 331.

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