'My husband went for a routine eye check-up - now he only has a year to live'

A family's world was shattered after finding out the devastating news a loving husband and father only had a year to live, but they've vowed not to give up.

Michael Sixsmith, from Edenfield in Rossendale, Lancashire, was having a routine eye test at his opticians in September last year after he complained of a contact lens in his left eye drying out. He had hoped to buy some glasses to fix the problem but was made aware he had a small cataract and he would need to go to Bolton for some further tests.

At this appointment, Michael was told treatment for the "small blob" was optional. His wife Kyla Sixsmith explained: "Michael said well I won't bother having it done then, I'll wait for it to get worse. So they said that's fine, but we have noticed something in the back of your eye from the scans. They said they thought it might be either a tear or his retina detaching." Here, Michael was referred to a specialist eye hospital in Liverpool.

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"They did loads of scans there. It was when we saw the last doctor in the last room where he said I'm really sorry but it's melanoma that's growing on your eye. We were shocked and actually asked, are you sure?" Michael's treatment soon followed the shock news and in October 2023, he was booked in for radiotherapy on his eye and had to stay in hospital for the entire week.

"He had a plaque attached to his eye which gives off radiation and that kills the tumour. That was removed and then a week later he had to go back and then they had to take biopsies of the tumour. Everything happened really fast, which I'm really thankful for. The thing is, Michael had no symptoms.

"You usually have symptoms, floaters, flashing lights, things like that, but he had none. They all said it's been caught early and if it had been left, he would have lost vision in his left eye and obviously, the tumour would have carried on growing."

Kyla and Michael are both dancers and teach 1950s Rock 'n' Roll, as well as touring care homes to entertain the residents. The pair are also kid's party entertainers, .

In the first few scans, Michael was told there was a "non-aggressive melanoma" but soon discovered cancers of this type often, if not always, spread to the liver. This led to the dad having an ultrasound on his organ in December which was all clear. However, in May another biopsy showed "suspicious lesions" and Michael was referred to Royal Blackburn Hospital for an MRI.

Kyla added: "In June, we got a call from the doctor and had to pay a visit, this is our own doctor in . He confirmed it was uveal melanoma and had spread to his liver and there was already five tumours there. It was very quick and obviously devastating. We said, if the ultrasound scans weren't every six months then maybe it could have been caught sooner, but they said the tumours might have already been there but too small to pick up on the scan."

The heartbroken mum, who has three children with Michael, continued: "We were devastated, we both burst into tears and couldn't stop crying. We did cry for probably about a week after but then we sat down and spoke to each other about treatment and how that will help this and get rid of them, so let's stay positive. At his point, we didn't know it was terminal. We just thought treatment would get rid of them."

Michael has since decided to get treatment at the Christie Hospital in and had his first appointment there in July.

Kyla explained: "The first lady that we spoke to was very sad when she was speaking to us and I could feel that something wasn't right. Then we were told it's very serious and it's terminal cancer. They said at that point, he's only got 12 months. It's unbelievable because Michael doesn't feel unwell, we're still doing things that we enjoy doing."

Working in an opticians in Ramsbottom, Kyla wants to emphasise the importance of regular eye check-ups as they not only test for the quality of your eyesight, but for your eye's health too. The pair are also hoping to raise money for private treatment, specifically 'Delcath' which describes itself as a company "revolutionising the treatment of cancer patients with the newest liver directed treatment for metastatic ocular melanoma."

However, this comes at a high price of £46,000 per treatment, plus consultation fees. Kyla says it focuses the treatment on just Michael's liver, meaning he doesn't have the side effects otherwise felt.

The mum explained: "I was talking about this and found a video which said there have been patients who have gone into remission with this treatment. I'm praying very hard Michael is one of them." Michael's consultant has informed he will need three rounds of this treatment, coming in at a total of £138,000. To raise this money, a friend of the family has set up a to raise money.