A GRANDAD from York has praised the quick thinking actions of his optician after he was diagnosed with a mini-stroke and blood cancer following his eye test.

Dave Buck, 66, has been able to receive treatment for both serious health conditions at an earlier stage thanks to his routine test and is now encouraging others not to miss their appointments.

Dave booked an eye test at Specsavers Vangarde in October last year when he relocated to Huntington from Essex so he could live closer to his daughter and family.

In the days lead-up to the appointment, Dave experienced some blurriness in his vision, which he expressed concerns about when he saw his optometrist.

Dave said: "After moving house, I had noticed that my eye test was due, so I made sure I booked a test at my local Specsavers.

"It was just coincidence that two days before the appointment, my vision had started to become blurry.

"I flagged this concern with my optometrist, Nasera Rahman, who really wanted to get to the bottom of the issue. During the eye test, Nasera spotted some abnormalities and suspected I had experienced a mini stroke, so she immediately referred me to the eye clinic at York Hospital."

Dave spent a night at York Hospital where it was confirmed by specialists that he had indeed suffered a mini-stroke.

He said: "The specialists ran all the tests and monitored me for 24 hours and I received the required medication. But the specialist spotted something else strange in a subsequent blood test, which they wanted a haematologist to take a close look over.

"I then had a bone marrow biopsy a few days later and was eventually diagnosed with low-grade, slow-growing blood cancer. Both diagnoses came as a real shock to me, as I’m a fit and active individual with no other significant underlying conditions.

"The prognosis really can vary a lot from person to person, but having it diagnosed at an early stage means I’ve been put on “watch and wait” – meaning the condition will be monitored very closely and managed more effectively."

Nasera said: "When Mr Buck came to see us, he complained of an unusual symptom which was a real concern to us, so we were keen to find out exactly what was going on.

"Mr Buck’s subsequent diagnoses emphasises the importance that we should all be attending our regular eye tests and getting ourselves tested if something doesn’t feel right.

"The team and I are all really pleased we were able to help him on his way in identifying the root cause of the problems, and that Mr Buck can now monitor and receive the treatment for the conditions."

Dave said: "Sometime in the future, I might need some kind of blood treatment to bring the cancer under control, but for now, we’re aware of it and we can keep a close eye on it, watching out for any more serious developments.

"After being diagnosed with the two conditions, my friends all joked that “I shouldn’t have gone to Specsavers!” but I’m really thankful to the tenacity of the team at Vangarde and the specialists in the hospital; who were determined to get to the root cause of the problem."