An optometrist saved my life

Hassan, Daniel, and Tammy stand together in a Boots Opticians practice

“Under the detached retina, there was a small round raised lump”

Optometrist Hassan Awan explains the steps taken in an appointment which identified signs of a retinal detachment and choroidal melanoma

Patients

23 Apr

An optometrist, Craig, is carrying out an eye test on a patient using a slit lamp and a Volk lens. The walls are green, indicating this is a Specsavers

“A simple eye check can really save your life”

Patients

20 Feb 1

Jessy, wearing a blue and white striped dress and with her hair in buns, leans forward to pet a ferret at a CHECT family day

“The visit to the optometrist convinced me that I had made the right choice”

Patients

27 Nov 2025 8 min read

Robert sits at a table in the garden smiling

“Cancer was the last thing on my mind”

Patients

28 Oct 2025 8 min read

Mahnoor in a navy long-sleeved dress and headscarf sits at her computer in the testing room. Behind her the screen displays scan results

“As soon as I looked at his OCT scans I could see papilloedema”

Practitioner stories

16 Jul 2025 6 min read 7

Hamza is photographed in a clinic room in his practice

“Your heart drops because given what Emma has already gone through, you’re hoping to find nothing”

Patients

17 May 2025 6 min read 3

Samiriah sits behind her desk in the examination room of an optometry practice. Around her is testing equipment and a computer monitor

“I feel very fortunate”

Patients

11 Jan 2025 7 min read

Hugo stands with his girlfriend, Francesca, both dressed smartly for an event

“I had brain surgery 10 days after my optometrist appointment”

Patients

12 Nov 2024 5 min read

Lynn poses in navy scrubs against a sign reading Eyeglass Opticians

“It was pretty evident that there was an issue”

Patients

12 Oct 2024 8 min read 1

Nikita stands in a testing room, which has wall painted a calming peach, and an array of optical equipment. She wears a black and white shirt which has stripes going in lots of directions.

“It was quite easy to put it down to a migraine”

Patients

28 Jun 2024 8 min read

Katherine wears a formal dress suit and is sat in a consulting room in front of a computer screen displaying retinal images. The wall has a large anatomical poster of the eye.

“I was advised that urgent heart surgery was necessary”

Patients

19 Jan 2024

SachaandElla1

“Through examination, I found a full thickness macula hole”

Patients

30 Nov 2023 5 min read

A lady with short blonde hair and rounded spectacles wears a royal blue shirt and stands in front of shelves of spectacles and sunglasses

“I knew what I was expecting to see, and this wasn’t it”

Patients

30 Sep 2023 5 min read

Amit and Lynsey

“It was shocking and scary to be told that there was a risk to my sight”

Patients

23 Jul 2023 5 min read 3

Poppy-May, aged nine, holds a box of chocolates and is smiling standing next to her optometrist Mrudang Patel, also smiling, inside a practice.

“I was just happy to hear that Poppy-May was alive and well and still smiling”

Patients

29 Jun 2023 5 min read

Family

“I was shocked to see what I suspected to be a retinoblastoma”

Patients

26 Feb 2023 10 min read

Jean

“It could have so easily been overlooked and my retina could have detached”

Patients

17 Dec 2022 7 min read

Marion Taylor

“I can enjoy life again”

Patients

30 Jul 2022 6 min read

CraigandMC

“He’s probably saved my life”

Patients

28 May 2022 6 min read 1

Carla and children

“I had no idea that a brain tumour could cause you to lose your eyesight”

Patients

04 Mar 2022 11 min read

Steven Hudson and Shane Abbas Bhimani

“The experience has changed my life”

Patients

07 Dec 2021 9 min read

pritpalandlyn

“If this was left any longer, it could have been fatal”

Patients

29 Oct 2021 8 min read

Martin Smith

“The seriousness of my situation began to dawn on me”

Patients

16 Sep 2021 7 min read

Leanne Ellison and Vangarde Specsavers dispensing optician

“I had no idea that eyesight was anything to do with a stroke”

Patients

05 Jul 2021 8 min read

Derek and Victoria

“I told dad that this wasn’t something we could ignore”

Patients

21 May 2021 9 min read

iain

“My blood pressure was so high that I could have had another stroke or a heart attack”

Patients

15 Mar 2021 8 min read 1

heart in hands

“They couldn’t believe I didn’t have any symptoms”

Patients

20 Jan 2021 8 min read

optometrist

“My trip to the optometrist resulted in me being diagnosed with lupus”

Patients

27 Nov 2020 10 min read

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