Man thanks opticians for picking up rare cancer

Robert Campbell was told he had cancer shortly after a routine eye test

A man has thanked his optician for saving his life after spotting he was unknowingly living with a rare type of blood cancer.

Robert Campbell went for a routine eye test in January at Flint Optometry, near his home in Wolverhampton, when optometrist Claire Williams became concerned.

She noticed a number of haemorrhages at the back of his eyes and he was soon called into New Cross Hospital, where he was told he had lymphoma.

Mr Campbell said he had been feeling unwell for a while but multiple blood tests, a colonoscopy and an endoscopy had not detected the cancer, so it was a "shock" to receive the news.

"I got a call from a consultant at New Cross saying they wanted to see me now, so I went and he told me I'd got lymphoma," he said.

"I am grateful as without Ms Williams picking it up, I don't know where I'd be now, I dread to think."

He added that his cancer was now under control after undergoing chemotherapy.

Ms Williams said she made an immediate referral to hospital following his eye test.

Claire Williams made an immediate referral to hospital after becoming concerned

"As I checked the peripheral part of the back of the eyes, I was able to see quite a number of haemorrhages and a third of them were even more unusual and very rarely seen," she said.

Peter Rockett, another optometrist at Flint Optometry, said regular eye tests were important as they could detect more than just poor vision.

He said: "You can see deep into the body through a convenient window, the pupil.

"So it is a great way to assess someone's eye health as well as their general health."