A TWO-year-old boy from Warrington has been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer after his mum and dad noticed a glare in his eye.

George Walsh, from Croft, was on holiday in Tenerife with his family in May this year when his parents mentioned they kept seeing a glare in the youngster’s eye.

His mum Victoria said it was orange coloured, but her mum, who she was on holiday with, said that if you take a photograph and it shines white it could possibly be retinoblastoma – a rare type of eye cancer that can affect young children.

“She only knew that because my auntie’s best friend’s niece had retinoblastoma around 20 years ago,” Victoria told the Warrington Guardian.

That evening, Victoria began taking photographs of George using the flash in the dark. They revealed a white glare.

Warrington Guardian: The white glare captured in George's eye

He had no symptoms except for this glare.

After taking more photographs and doing some Googling, Victoria and her husband decided to ring their optician Jo Baren, at Jo Baren Eyewear in Culcheth, for advice.

They sent over pictures of George’s eye and described what they had seen. George’s parents decided it would be best to fly home early, so they came back and the next day went for a referral at the opticians.

Here, drops were put into George’s eyes, and the opticians, who suspected he could have retinoblastoma, did everything they could to try and find out what was going on.

They referred George to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where staff contacted the Walsh family within two hours to arrange an appointment for three days’ time.

After what was a ‘horrific’ few days waiting for this appointment, George and his parents travelled to Birmingham so he could get checked out.

Here, they were told the tragic news that George, who was just one at the time, did have retinoblastoma.

Warrington Guardian: George had to lie down flat on his back for six hours after each chemotherapy session

“I was mortified. I could not believe it was happening to us. It was just a shock and it was scary at the same time,” Victoria said.

“They did not know what it was going to do and how it was going to spread because they did not know whether it had been there for a couple of months or whether it had been there since birth.”

A treatment plan was set out for George which meant he would start chemotherapy in two and a half weeks after his diagnosis.

This was a worrying wait for the family due to the thought that the cancer could spread – if it hit George's optic nerve, it meant it could then spread to the rest of his body.

George then began chemotherapy just days after his second birthday.

Warrington Guardian: George is being treated at Birmingham Children's Hospital

It was not the normal chemotherapy process however, as it was through the artery in his groin – which goes straight up to the eyes.

Because of this, it meant that after each session he had to lie flat on his back for six hours to ensure his groin clotted and didn’t bleed out.

The first chemotherapy session resulted in a ‘big shrinkage’, but when he had it the second and third time, nothing really changed in the tumour size.

Due to the riskiness of the procedure and because it was not doing anything, specialists decided to stop chemotherapy and to try laser treatment instead.

George is still currently having laser treatment and could be doing so for up to two years.

At the moment, the tumour has still not calcified. George has to go for treatment every four weeks.

Warrington Guardian: George after undergoing laser treatment

He will always have some sort of tumour in his eye, but the aim is to get it as flat as possible.

As he gets older, he will still need to go for regular scans to make sure the tumour is not changing or active.

In the meantime, Victoria has set up an Instagram page to document George’s cancer journey in a bid to raise awareness of retinoblastoma.

You can find it here or by searching georgecancerjourney9.

“I want to help other families. I want parents to maybe take photographs of their babies when they are younger to make sure,” she said.

“It is only a random photograph that you could just take in the dark with a flash on and it could just save your child’s life.

“It could have been picked up earlier I think, a lot earlier.

“If only I had known to take a picture once or twice a year to make sure there was not anything there – it takes just two seconds to do.”

According to the NHS, the main symptoms of retinoblastoma are:

- The eyes pointing in different directions

- The coloured part of the eye (iris) changing colour

- Swelling around the eye

- Uncontrolled eye movements

- Vision problems

- Pain in one or both eyes

You should ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 11 if:

- You notice a white glow or white reflection in the centre of your child's eye (pupil), which you may notice in low lighting or in photos using a flash

- Your child's eye is swollen

- You think your child is having problems with their vision

- Your child has a painful eye

- Your child has uncontrolled eye movements