A mother who spotted a “white glow” in her toddler son’s pupil while he was playing with his toys found out that he had eye cancer, just weeks before Christmas.
A year ago, 29-year-old Kirstin Smith noticed a “cloudy spot” in her now-3-year-old son Cian’s eye.
Ms. Smith, who is an additional support needs teacher from Shetland, Scotland, said: “Cian ... sat in the corner of the room playing with his toys, he glanced at the TV, and I noticed the white glow in his eye.
“It was only for a split second of clouded grey, and I did a double take, and it had gone.”
Concerned, Ms. Smith ran to her neighbor, who is a general physician.
“I knew that I could see the cloud,” Ms. Smith said. “I sent the pictures to my neighbor, and she said if I was concerned I should go see an optician.”
Ms. Smith later took Cian to an eye clinic at the Royal Aberdeen Infirmary, Scotland—where doctors discovered a mass on his eye. The toddler was then referred to Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, and the medical team suspected retinoblastoma—a rare type of eye cancer that can affect young children.
Ms. Smith was well prepared to hear the news as she'd suspected it was cancer.
“There was a part of me that hoped it would be something less serious, we were devastated by the diagnosis, but it wasn’t a shock,” she said.
In December 2022, the diagnosis was confirmed when Cian was transferred to Birmingham Women and Children’s Hospital, West Midlands, UK. Although more than 600 miles from their home, it was the nearest hospital that could treat Cian’s cancer.
He started chemotherapy three days before Christmas and has since made the 681-mile trip to Birmingham from the Shetlands for treatment 16 times.
After a few months of chemotherapy, the tumor shrunk and Cian started cryotherapy—the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy—to shrink it further.
Ms. Smith said the good thing about this type of chemotherapy is that it is targeted.
“He wasn’t unwell—it was just a difficult day, and the next day it would be like it never happened,” Ms. Smith said. “Life was relatively normal between chemo sessions.”
Reflecting on the diagnosis, Ms. Smith said: “His tumor was stage D—it was a large tumor—and if we didn’t spot it when we did, we might not have the same outcome.”
Throughout the treatment, the toddler has been very resilient.
Cian is still undergoing treatment to keep his cancer at bay, but Kirstin says everything is going in the right direction.
“He’s a standard 2-year-old—you would never know he is dealing with this,” she said. “He’s a little character, he has just turned 2. He’s very chatty and learning to speak.”
Ms. Smith said that when you look at his life experience in comparison to his sister or kids his age, it seems like he’s really unlucky.
However, his mom said: “When we’re away and we’re among the other retinoblastoma families, we are so lucky compared to them and what they are dealing with—we are very grateful.”
“He will be impaired due to the damage the tumor did to his eye, but we are not at the end of our journey yet so things could change,” Ms. Smith said. “We’re not sure what the future looks like just yet.”
The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) urges parents and healthcare professionals to be aware of the most common possible symptoms of eye cancer—a white glow in the eye in flash photos or certain light and a squint.
However, a change in the appearance of the eye or a swollen eye may also be an indication. Sometimes, only one symptom is present.
Richard Ashton, chief executive of CHECT, said: “Retinoblastoma is rare, with around one baby or young child being diagnosed in the UK each week.
“With symptoms being subtle, and children often being well, it can be hard to diagnose.”
