Baby's rare eye cancer spotted by mother in family photo



A simple picture may have saved a baby's life after his photo revealed a rare and life threatening tumour behind his eye.

Auxiliary nurse Samantha Rouse discovered her nine-month-old son Jacob's eye appeared white in a photo she took of him.



The glare from the camera revealed light sensitive cells in his eye that could not be seen face-to-face - a sign of the rare eye cancer retinoblastoma, a rapidly-developing cancer that forms in the cells of the retina, the light-detecting tissue in the eyes.

Telltale: The picture that sparked Mrs Rouse's fears

Jacob, who has already lost the sight in his left eye, has been receiving chemotherapy and laser treatment every three weeks in a desperate battle to save the sight in his right eye, as well as his life.

Mother-of-three Samantha was told by family and friends that there was nothing to worry about, but after taking a photo in September last year in which Jacob's eye appeared to be completely white, she went back to her GP and insisted something was wrong.

Mrs Rouse, 23, of Hull, East Yorkshire, said: 'You would never have thought there was anything wrong with Jacob.



'He was just a normal happy baby. It was only when I got some photos developed that I noticed Jacob's eye was white.



'Nobody believed there was anything wrong, even my GP told me it was just the flash and he was reluctant to refer us. Maybe my job makes me more cautious.



'It definitely means I was able to stand up to the doctor and insist Jacob went to hospital.'

Jacob was finally diagnosed at Hull Royal Infirmary last November, but Samantha and husband Dane, 25, who gave up his job as a joiner to look after their sick son, were shocked when they discovered the full extent of their child's illness.

Fight for sight: Samantha and Dane Rouse with their son Jacob, who is undergoing chemotherapy to clear his eyes of cancer

Doctors told them Jacob was blind in his left eye due to three large tumours in his line of vision. He also has three smaller tumours in his right eye, which might cause him to go completely blind.

Mrs Rouse said: 'We knew something was wrong, but we didn't expect it to be cancer. Because its such a rare type of cancer, we didn't know anything about it at all. We were completely shocked, he's our baby.'



Jacob's siblings Phoebe, three, and Harry, two, have been tested for the rare genetic disease, which only affects one in 15,000 people and tends to develop in children before the age of five.



Worryingly, tests showed Harry has white spots in his eyes, so he has to be tested further. Both children will continue to be tested in case they develop the disease.



Mrs Rouse said: 'I would definitely urge other parents to check their children's eyes. If it hadn't been for me taking photos and insisting he got checked, he might have already lost his sight.



'We're taking each day as it comes, but our family and friends have been amazing and we're hoping Jacob's sight will be saved.'



Retinoblastoma affects around 50 children every year and 95 per cent will survive after treatment. It is best treated if caught early.

Signs include a 'cat's eye reflection' in photographs, a black eye on flash photographs, a squint or a cloudy eye.

