Shola Lee
We've all joked that 'you should've gone to Specsavers' but the catchy motto took on a very ominous meaning when Matt Voice went to his local store for an eye check.
What was supposed to be a simple vision check for Matt, 40, soon turned his world upside down as he received harrowing news.
"I'm so glad I went to Specsavers — that appointment may well have saved my life," the dad-of-two explained.
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In April 2020, Matt ended up in A&E after he collapsed, but it was put down to high blood pressure.
Matt suffered from headaches and dizziness since he turned 32, but when he started seeing 'black orbs' he decided it was time for a check-up.
"As my eyesight was getting worse, I pushed to get an optician's appointment.
"It nearly got cancelled because of Covid but I pushed to go."
Luckily, Matt made the appointment and saw an optician at Specsavers' Worthing branch.
The optician noticed that Matt had swollen optic disks and referred him to a hospital.
"I was then seen by a specialist at the hospital, and they told me I had a lesion on the brain," Matt recalled.
The devastating diagnosis saw Matt be referred to the Brighton Royal Hospital, where he was diagnosed with astrocytoma glioma.
"I was told it was on the left and right side of my brain and that it would become aggressive," he said.
"I started suffering seizures and the light would go out in my eyes.
"It was horrible for my children," Matt shared.
Thankfully, the tumour was operable and in July 2020, Matt underwent a partial craniotomy, which involved removing 70 percent of the tumour on his right side - the mass they removed was the size of a fist.
He went on to have six weeks of extensive radiotherapy in August 2020 but the ordeal turned his world upside down.
"I lost all my hair, and I could see the children looking at me differently. I’m still their dad but I can’t do anything with them anymore. It’s changed everything."
Matt's cancer is now under control but it's likely to regrow, meaning that follow-up treatment may be necessary.
As a result of his cancer, Matt struggles with memory loss, mobility, and coordination issues, which he describes as 'frustrating.'
"I worked my whole life as a mechanic, so I was very switched on. Now I struggle to remember something my mum has just told me or what the date is," Matt explained.
The thing that keeps him going is his kids: "I’m just glad I went to the opticians when I did - otherwise I don’t think I’d be here for my children."