Retinoblastoma
Eye Cancer in Children
While no one likes seeing the words cancer and children in the same sentence we felt it was important to share some facts about this very serious condition. Did you know that Retinoblastoma is the most common eye cancer in children? Retinoblastoma usually presents very early on in a child’s life, either in infancy or before the age 4. At Sydney Ophthalmic Specialists we are often asked about what to look out for when it comes to a baby or small child’s vision and eyes. One critical sign not to be ignored in a baby or small child, is the appearance of a white pupil. Sometimes this white reflex can appear quite subtle when looking at the child, but may be more obvious when looking at photos taken of the child using a flash. What we like to see when looking at babies and children, is a healthy red reflex. A white pupil is always grounds for an ophthalmic examination and you should consider it an urgent consultation.
“It does not discriminate in gender or race, and its incidence is the same in every population around the world”.Dr Michael Jones, one of our very own paediatric ophthalmologists at Sydney Ophthalmic Specialists, is also Head of Department at The Children’s Hospital Westmead. He wrote an informative article for RANZCO recently raising awareness of this disease.
Follow this link to the RANZCO website to read the full article: https://ranzco.edu/media-and-advocacy/blog/eye-cancer-in-children
Appearance of white pupil should not be ignored and examination by an ophthalmologist arranged urgently