Vision Health Month

PAG E 2 VISION HEALTH M O N T H Comprehensive Eye Care For The Whole Family. New Patients Welcome DR. KIM ELCHESHEN DR. GILLIAN ROBINSON DR. DON PORTER FIND US 2-835 Dakota Street (across from St. Vital Centre) CALL 204-953-2020 VISIT 20-20eyecare.ca Steve James is a very lucky man. J ames was born with what he calls "eagle eyes"—phenomenal eyesight that aided him in his career as a Canadian Air Force pilot. When James was flying, annual eye exams were a requirement. Once he was no longer a pilot, he let the check-ups lapse. "I never thought about the possibility of an eye problem," he says. "My vision was always one of my strengths." That changed in 2013, when James was 59. "I started noticing what I thought were age-related floaters and flashes and some obscuring of vision in my left eye, but I wasn't overly concerned," he said. "I thought buying those 'drug-store' reading glasses was just fine for me." The symptoms finally troubled him enough that he decided an eye exam was in order. His family had been seeing Dr. Luke Small of Armstrong & Small Eye Care Centre, and gave the doctor of optometry rave reviews. James had last seen Dr. Small for a check-up in 2000. He believed his vision problems were age- related, so he was shocked to discover he had a detached retina. Dr. Small immediately got on the phone with the on-call surgeon at Misericordia Health Centre. Within an hour of leaving Small's office, James had his eye assessed by the surgeon. That's when he received devastating news. A tumour was causing his detached retina. James was diagnosed with a malignant ocular melanoma—an extremely rare eye cancer. "It's a lot for one morning. I went from 'I have great eyes; I'm just getting a little old,' to 'I have a very rare cancer.' My world changed very quickly," he recalls. "I think I broke down crying later in the day." Unfortunately, the oncology specialist James needed to see was out of the country for two weeks. "Once you end up with this diagnosis, you really want action now," James says. "Thankfully Dr. Small called me that night and offered to get things going. He acted as a counsellor and advocate for me—I didn't expect it. I thought I was going to be sitting around waiting for two weeks." By the time the oncology specialist returned to Winnipeg, all the necessary tests were complete. James flew to Vancouver, which has one of three centres in Canada that can treat this type of eye cancer. "They attached a tiny metallic object containing radioactive material to the outside of the eye adjacent to the tumour. He was radioactive for a day or two," Dr. Small remembers. "He's still monitored quite closely. The tumour is always there, but there's been no new cell growth." Dr. Small adds that James was extremely lucky he came in for a check-up when he did. "If melanoma spreads, it's definitely life- threatening. I've only had one other case of eye cancer, and that gentleman didn't survive," Dr. Small says. "In Steve's case, the cancer hadn't spread to other parts of his body, but we really didn't know how long that tumour had been sitting there." Dr. Small is concerned that many people use their vision as a guide for when they need an eye exam, when conditions like James' cancer often have no symptoms until they're quite serious. "We can't just rely on our vision to tell us there's something wrong. Eye exams can detect early signs of potentially serious health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and in Steve's case even cancer," says Dr. Small. "If Steve looked straight ahead that day he came to see me, he still had almost 20/20 vision." James' brush with cancer changed his life in many ways. Since his diagnosis, he works less and enjoys family time at the lake more often. "I've lost significant capability in my left eye, but the treatment was successful. I was able to keep my eye, but I'm on cancer watch," he says. He's grateful to Dr. Small for identifying there was something seriously wrong with his eye and intervening in on his behalf. "I moved very quickly through the system. Dr. Small's response was instrumental in ensuring I got the cancer addressed quickly," says James. "Do those regular check-ups with a doctor of optometry. There are eye diseases we are unaware of." Dr. Small adds, "I often let my patients know that their eyes are much like a canary in the coal mine. They give your doctor of optometry a good sense of your overall health. We can't crawl inside your arm to look at the health of your blood vessels, but the eyes give us a great view and early warning signs to serious health issues. It's all connected." Children and youths aged 18 years and younger should get their eyes checked every year, starting at six months old. Adults between the ages of 19 and 64 should be checked at least every two years, and once a person turns 65, eye exams should once again become an annual event. "IT'S A LOT FOR ONE MORNING. I WENT FROM 'I HAVE GREAT EYES; I'M JUST GETTING A LITTLE OLD,' TO 'I HAVE A VERY RARE CANCER.' MY WORLD CHANGED VERY QUICKLY," JAMES SAYS. EYE EXAMS ABOUT MORE THAN VISION BY HOLLI MONCRIEFF

• Cover