Toddler With Unusual Eye in Photo Diagnosed with Eye Cancer, Parent Give Signs to Look Out For

Adele Sagrant took a picture of their six-month-old daughter, Mya, when she giggled. When she saw the photo, she was surprised. She saw a white glow in her baby's right pupil, which was in stark contrast to her blue pupil on the left.

When she asked her doctor about it, the pediatrician said not to worry and referred her to a specialist. Mya was later diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare type of cancer on the retina at the back of the eye, Cleveland Clinic said.

Retinoblastoma

After two months of waiting, the specialist gave Mya's prognosis. She told Sagrant that her little daughter had cancer. The mother said she cried when the specialist broke the news, and everything went black.

When Mya was just eight months old, she began chemotherapy four days later. The doctors were honest from the beginning not to raise so much hope. They told her they would do everything, but Mya may lose her eye.

When the chemotherapy started, Mya lost her blonde locks. After the treatment, Mya had monthly checkups to determine if the treatment was working. At first, the chemotherapy worked, but nearly two years after the cancer diagnosis, doctors told the parents that they could not save the eye.

Mya's right eyeball was removed at three years old, as per 7News.com. Surgeons then discovered a tumor in a blood vessel, so Mya needed more treatment. Specialists also worked to create an artificial eye for her and fitted her with a prosthetic eyeball. After treating retinoblastoma for four years, doctors now declare Mya cancer-free.

Sagrant said that her daughter now has four prosthetic eyes in her special jewelry box, as she is given a new set of eyeballs as her eye socket continues to grow.

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Signs to look out for

Sagrant said that parents should look for "crooked eyes, bulging eyes, or a white glow in the photos."

According to the American Cancer Society, retinoblastomas are most often found when a parent or doctor notices that the child's eye looks unusual. Usually, when you shine a light on the eye, the dark spot in the center of the eye looks red. This is because of the blood vessels in the back of the eye. However, patients with retinoblastoma have a condition where the pupil often appears white or pink.

White pupillary reflex is most visible after a flash photograph is taken, especially if the eye shows different colors in the image. Doctors often note this during a routine eye checkup.

Sometimes the eyes don't appear to look in the same direction, a condition called lazy eye. Having lazy eyes may be due to many possible causes, but it is often caused by a wild weakness of the muscles that control the eyes. However, in some cases, it may be caused by retinoblastoma.

Other symptoms may also include:

•  Pain in the eye
•  A red or inflamed eye
•  Vision problems
•  Bleeding in the front part of the eye
•  Bulging of the eye
•  A pupil that does not get smaller when exposed to bright light
•  The iris has different colors

Around 200 to 300 children are diagnosed with retinoblastoma every year, affecting boys and girls under five years old.

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