A student who had her eye removed due to a rare cancer has revealed the moment she first saw herself in the mirror after surgery, leaving her feeling “sick to my stomach”.
Jordan Zwart, now 20, was just 18 when she was diagnosed with aggressive ocular melanoma, which came after initially being told she had inflammation.
The teen was watching TV and suddenly felt an excruciating pain, which felt like her eye was being constantly squeezed.
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Jordan took medication for the pain, which didn’t go away, and woke up the next morning in tears.
Jordan’s mom was concerned and was taken to the hospital for an eye pressure test with an optometrist.
Initially, doctors suspected uveitis, which is the inflammation of the eye’s middle layer, but further checks days later revealed the devastating truth.
“I had to see my GP as I had a sore throat and during the checkup I happened to mention that I was suspected of having uveitis,” Jordan, from Cape Town, South Africa, told Need To Know.
“This concerned my doctor as he thought it wasn’t normal being diagnosed with uveitis at such a young age and it didn’t make sense.
“He called another ophthalmologist for a second opinion.
“After looking at my dilated eye he found the melanoma.
“I’ll never forget the look on his face when he found it.
“He said ‘forget everything about uveitis – you have a melanoma’.”
Jordan said the diagnosis left her in shock, and she couldn’t process the severity of the situation, saying that it took her some time to actually process her diagnosis.
She said: “At this stage I was quite confused as I didn’t know what a melanoma was.
“Until he and my mom broke down into tears and that’s when I realised this wasn’t good news.”
Tests later revealed Jordan also had a genetic predisposition to cancer, with her sharing the same cancer gene as her dad.
Jordan and her family had gone through a previous cancer battle, with her father being diagnosed, which made the news hit even harder.
Jordan said: “I didn’t want to put myself on the same level of severity as my dad because I have seen how bad cancer is and can get, and thought my problem was so little compared to others’ struggles with cancer.”
Doctors told her that the only safe option was to remove the eye.
Jordan said: “They told me that the specialist had called them and had come to the conclusion that the safest option was to remove my eye.
“In that moment, everything finally felt real.
“My heart sank and I burst into tears.”
“That was the first time that I ever saw my dad cry.”
Just days later, Jordan underwent surgery and had her eye removed.
Jordan just wanted to go home, and after a brief stay at the hospital overnight, she was discharged and could return home.
But the hardest moment came when Jordan took off her bandages for the first time.
Jordan said: “I remember the first glimpse of myself with one eye.
“I felt sick to my stomach and nauseous.
“I asked for my eye to be repatched, I didn’t like how it looked.”
“It all looked alien to me.”
Jordan confided in her friend, who said she was amazed by her eye, which resulted in her being less conscious.
Jordan during radiation treatment. (Jam Press/@jordyzwart.ocularjourney_)
She said: “I decided then that I would not cover my eye up and just accept the way I looked.”
Jordan also underwent further radiation treatment after traces of cancer were found upon further examination of her removed eye.
She was flown to Cape Town, and had 5 days of isolated brachytherapy treatment, with six rods with radioactive seeds being implanted in and around her eye and left for the duration of her stay at the hospital.
She described the experience as “the worst five days I have ever experienced”, adding the pain was “agonising”.
In addition to the physical pain, Jordan was unable to have visitors for more than 20 minutes at a time due to the risks of radiation exposure.
Jordan during her eye removal process. (Jam Press/@jordyzwart.ocularjourney_)
Jordan said: “I felt awful and bloated from the meds and anaesthetic for a few days after.”
The 20-year-old also had her exams at the time, but thankfully her school was accomodating and she was given extra time and catch up lessons.
Despite setbacks, she has slowly rebuilt her life – learning to adapt to challenges like poor depth perception and fatigue.
She said: “It takes me longer to complete tasks as I need to take frequent breaks to rest my eye.
“Losing an eye has definitely been challenging.
Now, she has said she is finally in a better place and looking ahead.
She added: “I have had to learn that healing takes time and I just need to be patient.
“I think my future is very bright and that good things are coming.
“I want to share my story to spread awareness of ocular melanoma and help others.
“If you are experiencing any symptoms or concerns with your eye, you should definitely get it checked out.
“Remember to always be grateful for what you have, don’t take life for granted because life can all change when you least expect it.”
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