A WOMAN who woke up with her eye bulging out of its socket was initially told by doctors she had conjunctivitis. But convinced there was something more going on, Mphango Simwaka pressed for further tests - and received a devastating diagnosis of cancer at just 22. The Mphango, from Bradford, was initially told her swollen left eye was a simple stye.
But she was left horrified to wake up following day unable to see with her eye bulging alarmingly out of its socket. “I was absolutely mortified,” the former associate consultant told NeedToKnow . “One of my friends kept telling me: ‘It looks like your eye’s going to pop out.
' “It didn’t hurt or anything, but I felt like something was pressing against it. “The pressure was unbearable. “I just remember looking in the mirror and gasping in sheer horror at the way it looked.
“I really thought I was going to go blind, if not lose my life.” Mphango’s nightmare began in November 2022, while she was in the process of moving. Already stressed, the subtle swelling in her left eye triggered alarm bells.
The now 24-year-old visited the Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) hospital, where she claims no tests or scans were done. A doctor suggested the swelling was caused by a stye and told Mphango to use a hot compress and to come back if it got any worse. For a second opinion, Mphango saw an optician, who confirmed her eye socket was inflamed and prescribed eye lubricant, before another doctor at the BRI told her it was conj.
