Discovering a tumor that could have cost Jasmin Nethercoat her sight was an unexpected outcome of her first birthday photo. After her mother, Vicki, noticed a strange reflection in Jasmin’s left eye, they sought medical help and were directed to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Doctors confirmed cancerous tumors in both of Jasmin’s eyes and immediately started her on chemotherapy to save her vision.
Retinoblastoma is the most common eye cancer in children, although it is incredibly rare, occurring in about 1 in every 20,000 births. Early detection is crucial for a positive outcome, and we believe in raising awareness to help identify signs of retinoblastoma. The survival rate for affected children is 96%, making it even more important to educate the public and healthcare professionals about this disease.
Look out for these common signs of retinoblastoma:
– A white “glow” or “glint” in the pupil of one or both eyes in dim lighting
– A white pupil in a color photo
– Crossed or misaligned eyes
If you notice any of these signs, please contact your pediatrician or ophthalmologist immediately and request a thorough eye examination, including pupil dilation. Don’t hesitate to insist on a referral if necessary.
Early detection is the key to saving children’s sight. Share this information with others to help spread awareness and protect young eyes from retinoblastoma.
Definately a simple picture can save the life a child. I have been in the same situation. I’m mother of a Retinoblastoma survivor.
I would also, like to recommend that you, the parent(s), take the initiative to ask your pediatrician to have them check for your babies eyes at every well-being check. It does not take time from the overall examinations or refer you to see an eye professional doctor. At lot of the time vision disorders are NOT discover in a early stage. Even though they may be treatable, but the damage is already done. I want to “prevent” you to part. Your baby’s eye are as important as other part of the body that the pediatricians check at the well-being check up. Visit my page and learn what our journey is been like.
Karina
http://www.retinoblastomafriends.org
My 20 month old son Will has had leukocoria in many photos. We asked his normal pediatrician about this and he did an exam of Will’s eyes in a darkened room and saw a normal red reflex. He gave us the name of a pediatric ophthalmologist if we wanted to examine further why this occurred. Although there was no urgency expressed by the normal pediatrician, I was concerned and made the appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist.
The pediatric ophthalmologist did a dilated eye exam and said that Will had an asymmetrical red reflex, but it was probably nothing to worry about. He had us make an appointment in six months for a follow up, but told us we could cancel if we were no longer noticing the leukocoria in Will’s pictures. We continued to see the white reflex in photos (although not often).
I didn’t worry much after that and figured that the leukocoria was just due to a bad camera angle or a reflection of the optic nerve. He is never looking directly at the camera in the photos where the white reflex occurs. It happens in both eyes (sometimes it happens in both eyes at once, sometimes just the right eye or just in the left). Since bilateral retinoblastoma is familial and we have no history of retinoblastoma in our family that made me worry less.
We did take him back for the follow up six months later since the leukocoria was still occurring. This time we printed some of the photos and took them with us. The pediatric ophthalmologist seemed concerned when he saw the photos. He was very quiet and then suggested we set up an appointment for Will to have an examination under anesthesia. I was shocked to see that he was concerned this time because of the way he acted six months ago.
The doctor is extremely busy because he is the only pediatric ophthalmologist in the area. They set Will up for the first available appointment he had, but it is not until June 24th. That is over a month away! I assumed that the large amount of time between our appointment and the EUA meant that he was not really too concerned, so I have tried to use that to put my mind at ease. (I keep thinking, if he really thought it was retinoblastoma he would clear his schedule and look at Will right away, right?!?!) I went home and started searching for other causes of the white reflex thinking it could be something else that is harmless. The more I read, the more nervous I am. Will is a totally healthy, normal little boy, but I am extremely worried and feeling I am feeling physically ill because of it. Any thoughts? I have been trying to post my story on several sights to see if anyone has any any advice for us.