A woman from Co Antrim is calling for local treatment options to be made available after being diagnosed with eye cancer.
Sandra Newman, 55, noticed a shadow in her vision and went to her local opticians in January 2021. The next day, she was referred to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where it was confirmed she had the rare form of cancer.
In the time that has followed, the Antrim woman has had to travel to Liverpool for chemotherapy and other forms of treatment as such treatment is not available for eye cancer patients in Northern Ireland.
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Sandra is calling for treatment to be introduced in Northern Ireland and for OCT scans, which give a detailed assessment of eye health, to become a regular part of a check-up for anyone over the age of 50.
"I started to notice a small shadow in the top of my eye which was just coming and going," Sandra explained to Belfast Live.
"Two weeks later, I thought there may be something wrong, so I phoned the opticians in Antrim and happened to say to the girl on the phone I had a wee shadow on my eye and would like to get it checked. Straight away, they asked me to call down the next day, and they did an examination.
"While I was there, they called eye casualty at the Royal and they wanted to see me the next day. I went there and they told me I had eye cancer. It was so quick how it all happened."
Upon receiving the shocking diagnosis, Sandra was told she would have to go to England for treatment, with options including Liverpool or Southampton.
Sandra went over within weeks of her cancer diagnosis and was there for five days, alone with no visitors due to coronavirus restrictions.
The 55-year-old said it's frustrating to have to travel there and back for treatment, and is calling for this to be made available locally.
"The last time I was there, I had chemotherapy at 1pm, you can't see anything and have to wear these big massive black glasses. I had to walk around Liverpool for six hours waiting on my flight in that condition. It's ridiculous.
"The same is going to happen when I'm back again in December, I'm going to have a six hour wait around Liverpool wearing these big massive glasses.
"You go every six months to get your eye checked, but there's nobody in Northern Ireland who can do it, so I have to go to Liverpool to get this checked. In Northern Ireland, I get my liver checked because eye cancer spreads through your blood, so the chances are it's going to go to my liver, my lungs, or my brain.
"I went for my check up last September and it had started to crust, I went in March and it was starting to shrink. Then I went back on September 15 to be told my cancer is growing again.
"They flew me back a week later, I had chemo done in my eye through drops, I got lasering done to try and zap the growth. I'm back in December but the chances are I'm going to lose my eye.
"There's nobody in Northern Ireland you can talk to about it. I've been having terrible headaches, I phoned my doctor, she called me down and while I was there she said she wasn't sure what medication to give me as they didn't know anything about the cancer. She had to ring Liverpool to ask what tablets to give me.
"I know it's a rare cancer, but it's like there's nobody to help you when you get this in Northern Ireland. In 2022, it's a disgrace."
Sandra is appealing for eye cancer to be more well-known and for people to take their eye health seriously. In the UK, an average of 851 people per year are diagnosed with the disease.
She said: "I had never heard about eye cancer. Nobody talked about it.
"When you go to get your eye test, you're offered the test that can detect it, but it's never explained why you should get this done. I'm over 50, this should be told to everybody to make them aware.
"An elderly woman came in to the opticians while I was waiting, and she was offered the second test but the optician said it's up to her whether she gets it done. But that's the wrong answer, it's not up to her, they should be encouraging her to get that test so it can catch things like this.
"Somebody has to stand up and say eye cancer is as serious as any other cancer. What's the difference between losing your breast and losing your eye?"
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