A mum who thought her severe headaches were being caused by her eyesight getting worse discovered she had a life-threatening brain tumour.
Jessica Hyde, 31, decided to visit the optician's after the severe headaches refused to go away.
She thought she might need to upgrade her prescription – but then the optician revealed the truth: her optic nerve was swollen, which was a possible sign of cancer.
Jessica, from Birmingham, was referred to hospital where an MRI scan revealed a brain tumour.
The doctors fitted a shunt in her head to relieve a build-up of fluid from her brain, before operating just a week later.
Doctors were unable to remove the full tumour as it would have affected her mobility.
She has been left with a peanut-sized tumour still on her brain and must have a scan next year to ensure the tumour is not growing.
Jessica, whose two children are aged 12 and three, said: "I was getting really bad headaches but assumed I just needed to update the prescription in my glasses.
"The optician spotted that the optic nerve was swollen, and I was referred to hospital the next day.
"If I hadn't been for that eye test I wouldn't be alive now. The build up of pressure on my brain would have killed me.
"They said I'd probably had it for several years, but if it had been left undetected for much longer it would have killed me. Thankfully, the operation was a success."
Sukhi Drake, Specsavers' Chelmsley Wood store director, said: "Fortunately Jessica's case had a happy ending.
"Although it's unusual, it highlights the importance of regular eye examinations - and of seeing an optician promptly if patients experience vision problems or headaches."