Woman diagnosed with rare cancer had complaint to colleagues before discovering it was cancer
Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.
In March 2019, Lara Vivo started to notice 'flickering lights' while at work, only to be met with confusion when she raised concerns with her colleagues.
"I had this funny vision at work, but I couldn't explain it, it just didn't feel right," the supermarket store assistant recalled.
Lara initially assumed her symptoms were caused by stress, but was shocked when she was referred to an emergency eye unit after a routine optician appointment; subsequent tests diagnosed the 41-year-old with uveal melanoma. A rare cancer, uveal melanoma is found in the eye's uvea - the middle layer of tissue in the wall of the eyeball.
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In Lara's case, doctors discovered a 1cm tumour in her right eye, which subsequently caused the retina to detach.
Recalling the moment she heard the diagnosis, Lara said: "I remember saying 'hold on a minute, did you say cancer?'. I don't remember much else.
"I came out the waiting room and burst into tears to my partner," she continued.
"When the consultant told me it was cancer, it was like a stab in the heart."
Deciding to head home to Spain for her treatment, Lara saw a specialist eye doctor in Barcelona, paying roughly £30k for her three surgeries.
The operation took place over six months and consisted of reattaching the retina, removing half the tumour and applying a radioactive plaque to it, which aimed to attack the remaining cancer. The plaque was then later removed.
Despite leaving her with just 10 percent of her vision in the right eye, Lara remained cancer-free for the following seven years, until a check-up back in January revealed the cancer had metastasised to her liver.
"I had originally been told I was a high risk for metastases in the liver, but by now I thought maybe I was fine," Lara said of the news.
"But as of March 2026, I am considered stage four terminal."
Due to the rarity of her cancer, there is no specialist treatment available for uveal melanoma, meaning that Lara and her husband, Roy Bettencourt, are now fundraising £120,000 for her to undergo private chemosaturation therapy - a targeted chemotherapy delivered by needle directly into the liver.
Under the NHS Clinical Commissioning Policy of 2016, there isn't enough evidence of success to support making chemosaturation therapy available on the NHS.
"No studies were identified of high quality to draw firm conclusions on the safety of the procedure in patients with liver metastasis from ocular melanoma," the policy reads.
"No cost-effectiveness studies were identified to comment on the cost-effectiveness of this procedure."
"I want to live."
However, Lara is refusing to give up and hopes that she'll be able to undergo three rounds of £40,000-a-go treatments at Southampton General Hospital.
"I've been given a grim diagnosis but I've been researching and I'm not giving up, I want to live," she said.
"These seven years it's just been appointments, cancer, hospitals. We had planned to get married, and maybe have children.
"It will never happen now. It's ruined my life," she continued.
"I don't look ill, but I'm fighting for my life now. And this cancer is persistent, but I'm not giving up."
You can donate to Lara's fundraiser here.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Brenna Cooper