A MAN has a trip to the chippy to thank for saving his sight.

A doctor queuing next to John Burns at Rectory Fish Bar in West Bridgford noticed a mark next to his eye – and urged him to get it checked.

Mr Burns, 66, of Taunton Road, West Bridgford, then discovered he had a tumour the size of a two-pence piece.

He had assumed the mark was a wart, but it was a basal cell carcinoma – a type of skin cancer.

"It's just one of those quirks of fate that can probably only happen once in a lifetime," said Mr Burns.

"My partner kept telling me to get it checked out, but I would probably never have done anything about it and who knows what would have happened. I could have gone blind."

The tumour was removed by Dr Sandeep Varma, a consultant dermatologist and dermatological surgeon based at the Queen's Medical Centre.

Mr Burns had to undergo skin grafts from Lorraine Abercrombie, an oculoplastic surgeon.

Dr Varma said many people do not realise they have the tumours until they start to bleed.

"If it's left it becomes bigger and bigger, and more invasive," he said. "Where it was located on Mr Burns was near his eye, so if it had spread it could have gone into his eye. He could have lost his sight had he neglected this."

Now Mr Burns wants to find that doctor and thank him in person.

caroline.lowbridge@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk