A mother revealed the disturbing, subtle sign her five-year-old daughter had eye cancer.
Elise Seal from Birmingham noticed during their holiday in June last year that Esmae’s right eye had changed from its usual green-brown colour to dark brown.
But it wasn’t until they got home a few days later that she noticed the tree had an unusual white glow.
The 25-year-old made an appointment with the optician for her then three-year-old daughter, who was referred for further tests and checks.
Scans showed she had retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer that only 44 children in the UK and 300 in the US are diagnosed with each year.
Elise Seal from Birmingham noticed that Esmae’s right eye had changed from its usual green and brown colour to dark brown while they were on holiday in June last year
But it wasn’t until they got home a few days later that she also noticed it had an unusual white ‘glow’. The 25-year-old booked an appointment with the optician for her then three-year-old child, who was referred for further tests and checks
Esmae, a ‘cheeky little princess’, has since undergone surgery to remove her eye and six rounds of chemotherapy, but thankfully her condition is in remission.
Mrs Seal spoke of her heartbreaking ordeal: ‘Looking at her now, you wouldn’t think she’s been through anything this big.
“Esmae is always doing something. She’s outgoing — she’s just a great little girl.”
After noticing a change in the colour of her eyes on the Costa Brava in Spain, Seal and her partner Callum Bissett, 26, noticed they were also bloodshot, and thought it was due to chlorine.
She added: ‘Four days later we came home and Esmae was with her grandmother.
“Her grandmother said her eyes looked strange. When I went to her, the sun was shining in her eyes and I saw a white glow in her pupils.”
The optician referred her to Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre, where, Mrs Seal said, she was asked if there was a family history of eye cancer.
“That’s when I knew it was really bad,” she added.
Esmae was transferred again to Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital and just two days later she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma.
After noticing a change in the colour of her eyes in Costa Brava, Spain, Ms Seal and her partner Callum Bissett, 26, noticed it was also bloodshot and put it down to chlorine
Esmae, a ‘cheeky little princess’, has now undergone surgery to remove her eye and six rounds of chemotherapy, but thankfully she is in remission
In stage E, the tumor extends right up to the eye, bleeds or causes high pressure in the eye, meaning there is almost no chance of saving the eye. Esmae, five, with her little sister
“They took us into a side room with tissues and a couch. At that point I knew,” Seal said.
“They sat us down and told us she had retinoblastoma and it was stage E.”
In stage E, the tumor has extended to just in front of the eye, is bleeding, or is causing high pressure in the eye. This means that the chance of saving the eye is virtually zero.
“They discussed that the only treatment they could offer was an enucleation – removing the eye – because the tumour was so severe,” Ms Seal added.
In the UK, around 40 to 50 young people and in the US, 200 to 300 people are diagnosed with retinoblastoma each year. The condition usually affects babies and children under the age of six.
Retinoblastoma occurs when the cells in the retina of the eyes, which should grow very quickly and then stop growing during a baby’s early development, continue to grow and form a cancerous tumor.
When the tumor develops, light reflects off the white surface of the cancer. This is why the child’s dilated pupil appears white in flash or dimly lit photographs.
Symptoms include an unusual white reflection in the pupil, strabismus, a red or inflamed eye, and poor vision.
About 98 percent of children survive retinoblastoma.
But according to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT), early detection is crucial to saving sight and lives.
In July, Esmae had her right eye removed, but a month later, in August, she suffered another heavy blow.
Retinoblastoma occurs when retinal cells in the eye – which should grow very quickly and then stop growing during a baby’s early development – continue to grow and form a cancerous tumor
Esmae later had her right eye removed in July, but just a month later in August she suffered another devastating blow. Doctors had discovered cancer cells in her optic nerve during a biopsy after the eye was removed
Doctors discovered cancer cells in her optic nerve during a biopsy after her eye was removed.
Mrs Seal said: ‘That’s why she had to undergo six rounds of intensive chemotherapy.
‘Callum and I were devastated.
‘They were suffering from all the side effects of the chemotherapy and we were both so scared.
‘They even said that she would have trouble having children in the future, so they offered to remove one of Esmae’s ovaries and freeze her eggs for when she is older.
“We just couldn’t believe that our little girl would have to go through much scarier things.”
Esmae began chemotherapy that month, which ended in December. In the fall, her ovaries were also removed.
After finishing During chemotherapy, “we were all dancing and clapping,” Ms. Seal added.
“It was a huge weight off our shoulders that our little girl had achieved something so great.”
Esmae, who turned five earlier this month, now also goes to school full-time.
Esmae began chemotherapy that month which ended in December and her ovaries were removed in the fall. Pictured: Esmae on her fifth birthday
Mrs Seal said: ‘She’ll have an MRI scan every three months for the first year to check everything again.
‘She is a happy, healthy and beautiful five-year-old girl.
‘She is now back in school full time and enjoying the things she couldn’t do during chemotherapy.
“I am so proud that she is my daughter.”
Richard Ashton, Chief Executive of CHECT, said: ‘Retinoblastoma is rare, with one baby or young child diagnosed with it every week in the UK.
‘Symptoms can be very subtle and children often appear healthy, making it difficult to diagnose.
‘In just under half of all cases, a child will need to have an eye removed as part of treatment.
‘We are grateful that in Esmae’s case, her symptoms were recognized so she could be treated.
‘If you are concerned that a child you know may have retinoblastoma, have him or her assessed by a GP or optician as soon as possible.’