star Livi Deane had always cherished her captivating gold-flecked brown eyes - so learning she had to lose one due to a rare eye cancer after enduring relentless chemotherapy sessions was shattering. Here, the 26-year-old details her agonising health battle and exclusively opens up about being on end-of-life care as her loved ones said their goodbyes…

By 14, she had lost all of her thick blonde hair due to chemotherapy and felt "self-conscious" about her prosthetic eye, which didn't quite match her natural eye colour.

The life of the Horsham-born beautician and model took a devastating turn during an eye test at Specsavers, where a dark mass . She had been noticing "shadows" in her vision but was left terribly "shocked and scared" when doctors soon confirmed it was cancer.

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Just two weeks after her diagnosis at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, she began chemotherapy. Livi remembers, "I immediately thought I was going to die. I mean, I was only 12 years old at the time, so the only times I ever heard of cancer was kind of watching adverts where people die or lose their hair."

Livi, fresh into secondary school at the time, felt extremely weak and soon lost all of her hair. "I just felt like I couldn't get out of this dark hole," she recalls, voicing her frustration, "I was angry and upset. I was missing out on school. I had no immune system, so I couldn't be around anybody. It was an isolating experience."

She endured six intense cycles of chemotherapy that unfortunately failed, which prompted a switch to an experimental procedure known as intra-arterial chemotherapy.

This targeted approach administers high-dose cancer-fighting drugs directly into the eye's blood vessels. Marked as the 11th person to undergo this innovative treatment, she achieved outstanding results after just two sessions – the cancer was halted, and she was hailed as essentially cancer-free, going into remission.

"So that was absolutely amazing - that was the best news ever," Livi gushes, adding, "My hair soon started growing back too."

However, her came crashing down once again when she turned 15 after her check-up results revealed her cancer was active again and had been growing aggressively. Doctors had no choice but to remove Livi's eye in a bid to save her life.

She reflects, "I almost felt like, 'I've gone through all of this. I've lost my hair, I've continuously been sick, I've missed school, I've missed out on making friends and everything just to have my eye removed anyway.'"

Livi shares with stark honesty, "I never expected to have a hole in my head. I never knew anything about prosthetic eyes."

"I remember I was just more depressed than ever," she notes, "It was a completely different colour. It was massive. So it was like bulging out of my socket. It wasn't matching at all."

However, another blow came shortly after – while in the front garden, her world was rocked again as her mum, Sarah, collapsed and revealed devastating news upon regaining consciousness.

The cancer hadn't been entirely eradicated by the eye removal surgery; three per cent had spread, and she needed another eight bouts of chemotherapy.

"I actually couldn't believe it," Livi recalls, overwhelmed by the relentless struggle: "And at that point I was on it. I was so deflated. I actually had no words. I didn't even have anger. I didn't have anything left to me. I just thought, 'I can't do this anymore. This is just never-ending. When am I going to get a break?'"

Her ordeal intensified during the third round of chemo when her condition took a dangerous dip, leading to an urgent blood transfusion. With extremely low white blood cell counts, which are crucial in infection defence, her life was hanging by a thread.

She was in a dire state when she arrived at the hospital, unconscious and placed on end-of-life care. Recounting the harrowing experience, she said, "I wasn't well enough to have the blood transfusion. So I was basically, at that point, on end-of-life care. Doctors told my mum, 'We don't think she's going to make it for you tonight.'"

The medical team urged Sarah to summon her nearest and dearest to bid farewell. Livi recalls, "My mum couldn't bear it. She couldn't cope. She said I was just unconscious on the beds and just wasn't responding."

After relatives had visited, Sarah remained by Livi's side throughout the night. However, the following morning brought a miraculous turn; Livi opened her eyes.

She describes the moment: "I was opening my eyes, and I was basically responding but not talking. I was just kind of coming around a little bit. So she called the alarms, and they came in, and then slowly I came around."

Against all odds, as Livi regained consciousness, doctors rushed her for a life-saving blood transfusion. "We still don't know how, but as I was conscious, they got me straight down for a blood transfusion, and that saved my life."

Following two crucial blood transfusions and completing chemotherapy, Livi has been cancer-free for years. Today, she's a triumphant model and influencer who has graced the pages of Vogue Portugal [September 2021 issue].

Reflecting on her health journey, she shares: "I'm so grateful in so many ways. I've hit rock bottom, but I'm now at the top. I'm feeling happy - and it has taken me so much time to get there."

Livi bravely stepped out of her comfort zone when she took on a role in the third series of the popular show , which aired in January. She used this opportunity to raise awareness about retinoblastoma. [Didn’t speak about the series in the interview]

Additionally, she penned a book about her transformative journey, called, My New Normal, which was published in September 2024.

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