My routine eye exam led to a rare cancer diagnosis — I am one of the very lucky ones

A routine eye exam led to Cork woman Elaine O’Callaghan being diagnosed with a rare cancer, ocular melanoma, within days

Elaine O'Callaghan: 'I know I’ll never be ‘in the clear’ — I’ll be having the scans for the rest of my life. Pictures: Alf Harvey

For Cork woman Elaine O’Callaghan, a scheduled eye exam on a Thursday in September 2018 was the start of a frantic weekend culminating in a cancer diagnosis on Monday.

“I had a routine eye examination at Specsavers in Portlaoise, my two-year check-up. During the exam, the optician asked me if there was anything bothering me, and I mentioned a ‘flicking’ sensation in my right eye. She suggested I get an OCT [optical coherence tomography] scan, which she was able to do there and then.”