When Collieston dad Derek Melvin opted to pay the “extra tenner” at his eye test, he didn’t know the additional £10 scan would save his life.
The 59-year-old senior construction site manager is now sharing his health journey in the hope others will follow suit.
“That scan was the first step in finding out I had cancer in my eye. I still have my eye, and more importantly, I still have my life because of it,” Derek said.
“Finding cancer in my eye led to finding cancer in my bladder. I don’t even want to think what would have happened had I not taken that eye test.”
From honeymoon to hospitals, life changed for the Melvin family
This time two years ago Derek and Vicki Melvin were still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage.
The couple – Derek from Birmingham and Vicki from Aberdeen – met in an online forum for people with celiac disease and tied the knot in 2020.
Moving north to Collieston, the couple began building their new life together with Vicki’s daughter Hannah. Derek’s adult daughter Sinead lives in Birmingham.
But a routine eye test changed everything.
‘After everyone else tried, they sent the manager to scan me,’ said Derek
In October 2022 Derek attended Specsavers in Ellon for his bi-annual eye test.
“It was just an ordinary eye test, the only update I had since the previous scan two years earlier was that I could see some “floaters” on my left eye.
“As they had done previously, they asked if I wanted to pay extra for the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Scan.
“It was only a tenner, and I had the time, so said yes, just as I had done at my last test.”
Unlike a traditional eye test which evaluates how well you can see, the OCT scan – now offered by most high street opticians – looks at the health of the eye itself.
“The woman scanning me had just qualified,” Derek explained. “She scanned the right eye no problem but was struggling to get a clear picture of my left eye.
“Then the supervisor tried and had the same problem.
“Finally, after my usual eye test which was more or less the same as before, the manager came in.”
‘I didn’t even know you could get eye cancer’, dad Derek added
Comparing Derek’s OCT scans to the ones from two years earlier, he broke the news to Derek that “there could be something serious going on.”
He then referred Derek to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for more tests.
After four hours of tests, “going room to room”, Derek was told the likelihood was that he had a lesion on his eye. Described as “like a big freckle”, he was then referred to a specialist centre at Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow.
Finally in December 2022, and after five additional tests, Derek was given a diagnosis.
“I can’t say I was really thinking the worst because I didn’t know you could get cancer of the eye.
“I was taken into room with a junior consultant who explained a few things,” Derek said. “He then told me the main consultant needs to come in for the next part.
“I mean, that’s never a good sign,” he joked.
Sent to England from Aberdeen to have life-saving therapy
Derek was told he had a choroidal melanoma of the eye, a rare form of eye cancer.
“They described it to me as the lesion beginning to eclipse the optic nerve.
“I was given two options – leave it and see how it progresses, or be referred for proton beam therapy in Liverpool, the only place in the UK that does it. I didn’t know then what it entailed but I didn’t want to leave it. ”
To prepare for his therapy Derek needed metal markers installed in his eye as guide points for the proton beam.
“It sounds awful,” Derek explained, “but they took my eyeball out, added the metal guides and put my eye back in.
“By February 2023 I was being fitted for the radiation mask and in March I had the therapy every day for a week, even on my birthday.”
‘Finding another cancer was a miracle,’ says Derek
That wasn’t the end of Derek’s troubles. The type of eye cancer he was diagnosed with can metastasise to the liver, so he was asked to have a precautionary scan.
“I had an ultrasound done on my liver, which looked fine, but for some reason the radiologist decided to look at other organs.
“I mean, I believe in God, so I have to think there was some kind of miracle. She wasn’t supposed to look at my bladder, but she did. And in it was some kind of tumour, like a bit of broccoli floating about.”
More tests confirmed bladder cancer – completely unrelated to the previous melanoma – and in August 2023 Derek had surgery to remove two lesions. Both were graded as stage two cancer of the bladder, and grueling chemotherapy followed.
“The op went really well but the chemo was altogether something else. It was inserted right into the bladder so to rid the body of radiation after, one of the ways is to urinate.
“It was hell. And I kept getting infections too. It was a really tough time.”
‘I told him I’d be there with him through it all,’ said wife Vicki
Derek’s wife Vicki recalls this season of their lives.
“I was devastated and numb for a long time,” she said. “As soon as a doctor says cancer your brain switches off, but then you have to pay attention to what’s being said so you can take it in for you both.
“It’s hard to watch someone you love go through it. All you can do is love them through the worst time of their life and make life as comfortable as possible.
“Derek’s had his share of good days and bad days. I remember days when he stood there and cried, telling me he wouldn’t blame me if I wanted to leave as I hadn’t signed up for this.
“We had only been married two years at that point. I told him then I’d be with him through it all.”
Collieston dad Derek is grateful for eye test cancer discovery
Coming into 2024, Derek was feeling stronger than ever. However, the last scan of his eye wasn’t entirely positive.
“The lesion’s not doing what they want it to do,” Derek said. “It’s been described as incurable cancer. It’s not getting worse for now and there is the possibility of more treatment.
“Ultimately I could lose my sight or my eye. But I don’t want this to sound like a tragic story because I’m very, very grateful.
“If I hadn’t had the eye test I wouldn’t have found the cancer. Without that cancer I wouldn’t have known about the bladder cancer which was growing without any symptoms.
“I’m so grateful. I’d encourage everyone to have that eye scan – and any diagnostic test. You can’t fight what you don’t know.”
Christmas can’t come soon enough for the Melvins
Describing Vicki as his “rock”, Derek says he’s now looking forward to a healthy, happy Christmas.
“Just this week I was nervous because I lost weight. Cancer does that to you, you get anxious every time your body changes. But in this case it was a sign of health because my steroid dose has been changed.
“I’m actually stronger and healthier than I’ve been in a long time.
“I can’t wait ’til Christmas. It’s the first one with Vicki that we can properly relax and enjoy.”
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