An Aussie model is urging the public to get their eyes checked after being diagnosed with a rare type of eye cancer.
Gold Coast local Tilly Jac Smith revealed she was diagnosed with ocular (eye) cancer after noticing a change in her vision after returning from a trip to the Maldives.
Sharing the news with her 111,000 Instagram followers, the model and influencer said: “If you weren’t aware, because I wasn’t, you can get skin cancer or melanoma on your eyeball.”
She continued: “I get my skin checked often for skin cancers, but I’ve never, ever checked my eyeballs.”
The 32-year-old revealed she had sought medical attention after returning from a work and surf trip, where she realised something wasn’t quite right.
“When we got back from Maldives, I went and got my eyes checked because they were all of a sudden super sensitive to light,” she explained.
“What I thought was a pterygium seemed to have grown really quickly. I was sent to a specialist on Friday who diagnosed me with ocular cancer.”
Ocular cancer, or eye melanoma, is the most common type of eye cancer according to Cancer Council Australia, and is usually detected by an optometrist during a routine eye test.
A pterygium, often known as surfer’s eye, is a non-cancerous eye growth, mainly caused by long-term exposure to UV light.
Urging the public to make sure they also get checks routinely, Ms Smith said: “I needed to let you know when you get your skin checked next, if you do it yearly or however often, please get your eyes checked.
“Because I had no idea that that was a possibility.”
In the health update, Ms Smith revealed the surgery had been a success.
“There’s no such thing as finding it too early. Your reminder to get your skin checked,” the video caption read.
“Surgery was today, everything went smoothly and I’m healing. Very lucky to have my village.”
The surfer and travel enthusiast, has seen an outpouring of support from friends and followers, who have thanked the model for sharing her experience, with one person commenting: “I had no idea this was a thing”.
“Thank you for sharing and raising awareness. I’ll be praying for a safe surgery and good recovery for you beautiful,” one user said.
Another wrote: “Sending all the healing energy. Had never heard of that before. Awareness is everything.”
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