Mum shares shares tell-tale signs after daughter is diagnosed with rare eye cancer
A mum who was given the all-clear from cancer was left devastated after her young daughter lost her eye to the same disease just months later.
On Boxing Day last year, mum Lisa Shaw, 38, and dad Daryl Robson, 42, noticed a white ring around their daughter Bonnie’s right pupil.
The concerned parents took five-year-old Bonnie to the opticians where she was referred to hospital and diagnosed with grade E retinoblastoma - a rare form of eye cancer that usually occurs in children under the age of six.
In a sad turn of events, Bonnie’s diagnosis came just five months after Lisa had had to undergo chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiotherapy for breast cancer.
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In January this year, Bonnie underwent an operation to remove her right eye alongside a course of chemotherapy and is now cancer free, ‘happy and healthy’.
Lisa said: "Bonnie is just the best thing that ever happened to us. I thought I knew what love was until I met Bonnie.
"I look at what she has gone through and see how she is and I could not be prouder.
"When she is older, I want her to know that all the times I had to hold her tight were done out of pure love and we will protect her forever.
"I hope she knows how much we love and adore her.
"It is soul destroying you think when it happens to you it is bad enough but when it happens to your child it is mortifying."
Lisa and Daryl are now sharing the tell-tale signs to look out for - so other parents can spot the cancer before it spreads.
Typical signs of retinoblastoma include a white glow which may only appear in certain lights or a squint - as well as a change in the appearance of the eye or a swollen eye, although often only one sign or symptom is present.
Lisa and Daryl first noticed a ‘cloudy film’ on Bonnie’s eye and decided to get it checked out by an optician.
Lisa said: “Bonnie was excited to show off her letter skills at the opticians. The optometrist covered her right eye and she read some letters.
"He then covered her left eye. From there, I knew something was very wrong.
"Bonnie seemed to panic and she couldn’t focus.
"Her eye was moving up and down, side to side and it was like she couldn't see anything with her right eye.
"The worry in the optician's face said it all. He explained we needed an emergency appointment.”
After a trip to the hospital and a referral to Birmingham Children’s Hospital it was decided that due to the cancer being grade E, it would be best to remove Bonnie’s eye.
Once the surgery was done and Bonnie was feeling stronger she started chemotherapy as a precaution - just months after Lisa had finished hers.
"When my hair fell out, I promised Bonnie it was something to do with mummy’s strong medicine and it is not something that would happen to her,” she said.
"I never thought in a few months’ time my daughter would be facing the same experience at the age of five.
“Bonnie rang the bell as a sign of finishing her treatment on the 23rd of April 2022 and I rang the bell on the 20 April 2021.
"I would have never imagined we would be doing this in such a short space of time, but I am proud of us for getting through this so positively."
Claire Reid