I'm stepping up to fundraise for Moorfields Eye Charity. Every 15 minutes, someone in the UK starts to lose their sight. From the age of 17 moorfields has been a huge part of my life. At the age of 15 my mother took me to spec savers as I was having visual disturbances and headaches. Spec savers prescribed reading glasses but also doing a lesion on the back of my eye. They refered me to moorfields where I was diagnosed with ocular Hemangioma a benign lesion similar to a freckle on the back of my eye. I was told I would need regular checkups to make sure that it doesn’t get bigger and that the likely cause of disturbances and headaches was needing reading glasses. Little did we realise I hardly had vision in my left eye ! Fast forward a year or so they noticed the lesion was ‘leaking’  I was treated at moorfields with PDT (photodynamic therapy) a type of laser that helps stop the leakage. I developed all treatment complications  they provided me with before going ahead but I was treated with the best care. After further checks periodically they agreed the laser had worked but I had to remain being monitored. Attending moor fields every 3 months  then every 6 months.  In 2015 after regular reviews the lesion decided to grow again I was referred to St bartholomews hospital for 6 weeks of radiotherapy. I was a student dental nurse studying sitting exams and working full time and just started a new job! Every morning at around 6:30am I would have radiotherapy and go straight to work, straight home from work study for a hour or two then sleep. I’ve never understood how I managed to do it but I did, I look back and through the fatigue and side effects from radiotherapy its all a blur.    Post radiotherapy i developed macular degeneration and cysts behind my eye, moorfields treated me with injections into the back of my eye called avastin. You have a course of 3 injections, a number of weeks apart.        Post treatment the  tumour was stable, no growth and I was back into regular 3 month / 6 month / 9 month checks.   Then in 2017 at a usual check appointment I received news I was dreading ( I always knew it was coming) the tumour had thickened and they had re diagnosed me with ocular melanoma - a rare type of eye cancer that does not have  great statistics.  Taken from a medical journal it states - ‘An ocular melanoma has the potential to spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body. The liver is the most common organ in the body affected by metastasis of an ocular melanoma (80% of cases) but less often may involve the lungs, skin or soft tissue, and bone. Some estimates suggest that in 40-50% of individuals, an ocular melanoma will metastasize. Based on the aggressiveness of the particular tumor, as defined by clinical and genetic features, metastasis may be detected as early as 2-3 years after diagnosis and rarely as late as decades after treatment.’        Not only did this mean  I needed more aggressive treatment but I now had to mentally prepare myself for a life long cancer fight - not only did I need something called brachytherapy but I needed life long liver scans to ensure the cancer doesn’t spread. 

Brachytherapy is where you have a general anaesthetic to have surgery where  they place a radioactive metal plate into your eye, it’s then in place for 7 days where you are under observation before a further surgery under general anaesthetic to remove the plate. In those 7 days no one could spend longer then 30 mins in a room with me as I was highly radioactive, and if I needed a shower or toilet I could only be out my room for a short space of time and I had to be scanned with a machine to detect the radioactive plate was still in place before and leaving my room.  This was carried out at moorfields as a in patient. I received nothing but amazing care by the surgeon / nurses and health care assistants in this time. Post surgery it takes 6/12 months to evaluate wether the surgery and radiotherapy worked - Tommy delight the tumour was shrinking. I am now 6 whole years all clear, moorfields will continue to monitor me for the rest of my life and intervene when needed. They make what feels like a life sentence feel like i am visiting friends & family when I go.  Without clinic 11 - Prof sagoo / Sinead the clinical nurse specialist / Dr Gordon Hay and the receptionist Terri I might not be here today !  

I did the moorfields eye to eye around 4 years ago where I managed to fracture my foot mile 10 - I still managed to complete all 15 miles but I said I was never going to do it ever again but here I am.      If moorfields can devote life long care to me then I can take on 15 miles and saying thank you to Moorfields for the support they give to those living with sight loss. It won't be an easy challenge for me!  Every little bit you can give will make such a huge difference to innovation in eye care, educating the next generation of experts, their precious NHS staff and patient care. Because Moorfields Eye Charity believe people's sight matters- and so do I. It's a cause that is close to my heart so dig deep and give if you can. Thank you.