Little Daisy Stovell was only 11 days old when she became one of the youngest cancer patients in Britain after a chance diagnosis by doctors.

The 22-month-old was born with breathing difficulties and, after several tests, doctors initially believed she had an obstruction in her throat. She was transferred from Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Stirlingshire to Glasgow’s Yorkhill Children’s Hospital for further examination.

While Daisy was under general anaesthetic, doctors decided to carry out a routine eye check — a decision that almost certainly saved her sight and may have saved her life. They discovered a rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma.

Daisy’s rapidly growing tumour was just a few millimetres in size when it was found. At only three-and-a-half weeks old, she began chemotherapy.

To confirm the diagnosis, Daisy was flown 300 miles to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, one of only two specialist retinoblastoma centres in the UK. She was then flown back to Yorkhill, where two rounds of chemotherapy reduced the tumour by more than 50%, followed by months of laser treatment to clear the remaining growth.

Daisy also faced a serious infection during her recovery. Further tests later revealed an even rarer chromosomal deletion syndrome, which had caused her breathing difficulties at birth and left her with weak muscle tone. Despite being almost two, she is still unable to walk.

Her mum Sally, 38, said: “We are just so unbelievably grateful it was found so early — and all because they decided to do a routine eye check.”

Daisy has now remained cancer free for 14 months, although she continues to travel to Birmingham every 10 weeks for check-ups. Doctors have warned her parents that she may need monitoring for many years because of the link between her condition and the retinoblastoma gene.

At six months old, Daisy’s parents were told the tumour had shown slight regrowth, but further treatment gradually cleared it and she remains in remission.

Daisy now wears an eye patch each morning to strengthen the muscles in her affected eye and help protect her sight.

Her mum said: “She’s just amazing and apart from her hearing aids and glasses you couldn’t tell everything she has been through. She’s fab and she loves being in the water.”

Daisy’s case has since been presented to hospitals across the country to highlight the value of routine eye checks in newborns.