Mum of identical twin diagnosed with aggressive cancer urges parents to watch out for sign of ‘strange glow’
Little Indiana was just four months old when she was diagnosed with eye cancer
BECOMING a new mum can be incredibly demanding and stressful - but finding out that your little baby is sick throws a whole new level of stress into the mix.
Which is why one brave mum is warning other parents to look out for symptoms after one of her tiny twin daughters were diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of eye cancer.
Alison Lawler, from Croydon, south London, first noticed a strange glow in one of Indiana's eyes, when she was just a few months old.
"Her eye looked like a cat's eye or a marble - but only in certain light," she said.
After a series of tests, medics discovered that she had retinoblastoma - a condition which mainly affects children under the age of six.
"I feel terrible now, but before she was diagnosed, my husband and I were joking that Indiana looked a bit cross-eyed."
She says that they checked with the health visitor who assured the pair that all was fine.
Indiana's condition was eventually picked up by specialists at Moorfields Eye Hosptial in January last year, when she was four months old.
Alison said: "On top of the stress of being a new mother and learning to cope with twins, to hear the news that one of them has cancer, is absolutely terrifying.
"You never think it will happen to you - it's always someone else's child you hear about - never yours."
Symptoms of retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma is a type of eye cancer that affects young children, mainly under the age of six.
Around 50-60 cases are diagnosed in the UK every year – approximately one child a week.
It can either affect one or both eyes.
It's one of the most treatable forms of childhood cancers, with around 98 per cent of children surviving in the UK.
But you have to catch it early in order to save your child's sight.
Symptoms include:
- white eye or glow
- squint
- red, sore or swollen eye
- change in iris colour
- no red eye in photos
- deterioration in sight
Indiana, now 17 months old, has responded well to chemotherapy and her tumour has shrunk.
"We're now spending periods of time covering her good eye with an eye patch to try and improve the vision in her other eye," Alison said.
"However she's now sneakily discovered how to remove it. Indiana is certainly the rowdier of the two."
Indiana's twin Aurelia is currently cancer-free, but is being monitored for symptoms as a precaution.
Alison added: "I urge all parents to look out for the signs of retinoblastoma which can include a squint or a white glow in the eye, and keep pushing their doctor if they feel something is not right."
The condition isn't hereditary and almost all children survive the cancer, but it has to be caught early if their sight is to be saved.
Around half of kids who are diagnosed with it have to have an eye removed to stop the cancer from spreading.
MORE ON CANCER
Patrick Tonks, chief executive of the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, said: "Retinoblastoma is rare, with around 50 cases diagnosed in the UK each year, so many doctors will never come across it in their career.
"In addition to this, the symptoms can be quite subtle and children often seem well in themselves which makes it hard to diagnose.
"Unfortunately this can lead to alarming delays and we know that early diagnosis can potentially offer more treatment options and a better outcome for the child."
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