Daughter’s tumour seen in holiday snap
Lydia SharLotte, three, lives in Leeds with parents taomi, 22, a hairdresser, and danny, 23, who works for a wholesale market. taomi says: WE WERE on holiday in Turkey when I took a picture of our happy, lively, 18-month-old Lydia. But when I looked at the photo I saw a strange circle of white light in her left pupil.
It wasn’t red-eye or glare from the camera flash, and in the back of my mind I remembered reading about a woman who had discovered from a photo that her child had a form of eye cancer.
I was frantic to get home. As soon as we did, Lydia was referred to the hospital, where they confirmed our worst nightmare. She had retinoblastoma, a rare childhood eye cancer. Lydia had a Group E tumour — the most aggressive form. The only possible treatment was removal of her eye. We
were told that retinoblastoma could spread quickly and once in the bloodstream was hard to cure. This awful thing could kill our daughter.
Luckily, the cancer hadn’t spread, and when the eye socket healed she was fitted with a realistic artificial eye. Thank goodness for that photo.
EXPERT COMMENT: Andrew Lotery, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southampton, says: ‘ “Red eye” is a reflection of the flash off blood vessels in the retina, at the back of the eye. Retinoblastoma is a white tumour that grows there, so when light shines on it, white is reflected back. It’s vital to act if you suspect the disease, as it can pass down the optic nerve to the brain.’
the childhood eye cancer trust (chect.org. uk) is a Uk charity dedicated to helping the families of children with retinoblastoma.