ABOUT EYE PATCH DAY

It is no exaggeration to say having regular eye examinations could save your life.

OcuMel UK and the organisations shown on this site, are passionate about making changes to the future of ocular melanoma and this campaign aims to support these changes by making a real difference to real lives.

The aims of the campaign are:

  • To raise awareness of ocular melanoma by encouraging people to have regular eye tests and report any unusual symptoms to their healthcare professionals
  • To reach people living with ocular melanoma that do not know about OcuMel UK and other support networks around the world.
  • To raise funds to help people affected by ocular melanoma.

 

    This year Eye Patch Day will be held on Friday 19 May 2023

    You can download or order one of custom eye patches and show who or what you are “patching for” – it maybe for yourself, someone you know with ocular melanoma or you want to improve the support available to people with this condition.

 
Think about what you would like to do, whether you would like to fundraise and if you would like others to support you. Our IPatchFor A4 Sign is a great way of sharing your message across social media. Remember to use #IPatchFor #OcularMelanoma #EyePatchDay.

The idea is simple and with your help we can spread this important message and save lives.  Order your fundraising pack using the button below, or for printable material head here. For fundraising support please contact emma@omuk.info

ORDER YOUR FUNDRAISING PACK

Patient Stories

  •

    Katie Mckay

    In June 2011 I qualified as a reflexologist, I was the happiest I had been in a long time, and very proud of my achievements. At the start of the course I hadn’t thought about it as a business but as time went by and I began to get confidence in myself I thought perhaps

    [Read more..]

  •

    Ralph McMurray

    “Before this journey began, I had no symptoms, never suffered head aches or, blurred vision. There was nothing to indicate to me that anything was wrong”. For a number of years I had been buying “off the shelf”‘ glasses to help with my reading. For nearly a year, I had been noticing “floaters” and a

    [Read more..]

  •

    Heather Burt

    ‘You have a freckle in your eye’ Who would think that a routine trip to the opticians would change your life forever! I am 63 , married with 2 children and 5 grandchildren. I have always enjoyed crafts, sewing knitting, beadwork, card making. The crafts were a great stress reliever after 40 years of nursing.

    [Read more..]

Get Involved

We want to support you and your efforts in any way that we can, please feel free to get in touch with us at any stage.

We have put together a fundraising pack including:

  • Fundraising awareness tips
  • “Ipatchfor” A4 Sign
  • Fundraising Poster
  • Eye Patches with cancer ribbon
  • Cut out eye patches for your social media photos
  • OcuMel UK information leaflets
  • OcuMel UK supporter wristbands

……. please see our Downloads Section for printable options.

Why not update your Facebook profile picture to show your support …
Download here IPatchFor Frame.

Who will you ‘’patch for’’?

There are so many reasons why people choose to take part in Eye Patch Day, but we all have the same goal which is to encourage people to have regular eye tests, to understand and value the importance of their sight by experiencing a day with monovision and ultimately to change the future of ocular melanoma by bringing together the ocular melanoma community globally.

Who will you be “patching for”?

  • IPatchFor a cure
  • IPatchFor myself/my mum/my dad/husband/wife/daughter/friend etc.
  • IPatchFor so people know eye tests are important
  • IPatchFor more support

Prior to the day you can download a fundraising pack from here.

Support Near You

We want EVERYONE affected by ocular melanoma to feel supported. Please take a look at the map below to find other organisations or groups to find country specific information.

If you know of a organisation or group which is not listed here, please do get in touch so we can invite them to show their details.

If there is no support in your country yet, please do consider forming your own group or organisation. Quite often, it just takes one person to start making improvements, so that others can find information and support more easily. Please get in touch if you would like to talk to us about this.

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UK: 51.482600, 0.007700
US: 38.905628, -77.031884
NL: 52.095000, 5.109710
Ireland: 54.597000, -5.930100
OcuMel Canada: 49.246292, -123.116226

OcuMel UK

The “Eye Patch Day” worldwide campaign is held on the third Friday of May each year, by OcuMel UK, to encourage and highlight the importance of regular eye tests.

OcuMel UK is a registered charity, supporting those affected by ocular melanoma. We aim to help patients and their families by providing accurate, up-to-date information and emotional support via our website, helpline and online forums. Our vision is a world where ocular melanoma patients are given the information, support and treatment they need.
We also provide support through our Facebook groups. If you are a patient please join OcuMel UK Patient Support and if you are a relative or friend of a patient, please join OcuMel UK Family Support. We also have several other specialised groups including OcuMel UK Knowledge and Strategy for discussing issues around treatment and funding, OcuMel UK Welfare Support for help claiming state benefits and other concessions, OcuMel UK Stage IV Support for those with metastatic disease (or a nominated representative) and OcuMel UK Bereaved Support for anyone who has lost a loved one to ocular melanoma. These groups are very supportive and are all closed groups so that only members of the group can see posts. For more information please visit www.ocumeluk.org.

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