Kirstin Smith, 29 was watching her son, Cian, three, when she noticed a “cloudy spot” in his eye. Cian had been playing in front of the TV.
She immediately went to her neighbour, a GP, who told Kirstin to go to the optician to get it checked out. She took Cian to an eye clinic in the Royal Aberdeen Infirmary, Scotland where doctors discovered a mass on his eye.
He was then referred to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and medics there suspected it was a retinoblastoma, a rare type of eye cancer that can affect young children. The diagnosis was confirmed in December 2022 when Cian was transferred to Birmingham Women and Children’s Hospital, West Midlands, as Birmingham is the closest hospital that can treat Cian’s cancer.
Cian started chemotherapy three days before Christmas that year and has since made the 681-mile trip to Birmingham from the Shetlands 16 times for treatment. Kirstin, a primary school teacher, from Shetland, Scotland, said: “Cian was 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. His tumour was stage D – it was a large tumour – and if we didn’t spot it when we did we might not have the same outcome.
“He is very resilient. He will be impaired due to the damage the tumour did to his eye but we are not at the end of our journey yet so things could change. We are not sure what the future looks like just yet.”
After a few months of chemotherapy, the tumour shrunk and Cian started cryotherapy – the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy – to shrink it further. Kirstin said: “The chemo was really affecting him, it did manage to shrink the tumour but it was a real hard slog.
“The good thing about this type of chemo 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. Life was relatively normal between chemo sessions.”
Cian is still undergoing treatment to keep his cancer at bay but Kirstin says everything is going in the right direction. Kirstin said: “He is a standard two-year-old – you would never know he is dealing with this.
“He is a little character, he has just turned two. He is very chatting and learning to speak. He is a bit unsure about new people but we don’t know if that is a side effect of all the hospital treatment.
“You think about his life experience so far compared to his sister or his peers and it feels like he is really unlucky. When we are away and we are among the other retinoblastoma families we are so lucky compared to them and what they are dealing with – we are very grateful.”
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 photo or in certain light, and a squint.
A change in the appearance of the eye or a swollen eye may also be an indication – although often only one sign or 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. Symptoms can be quite subtle, and children often seem well in themselves which can make it hard to diagnose. In just under half of all cases, a child must have an eye removed as part of their treatment.”
