A mum said her "worst fear" came true after the unusual white glow she saw in her son's eye turned out to be cancer.
Laura Breeze from Norwich thought it was the "kitchen lights" when she first noticed the glow in the eye of her three-year-old son, Brody.
"I thought perhaps I hadn’t seen it properly, or that it may just have been the kitchen lights catching his eye a certain way," the 39-year-old said.
Mrs Breeze and her husband Ryan, 41, decided to get it checked out by a GP and an optician referred Brody to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
The family was given a week-long wait for an appointment, so Ms Breeze consulted a private paediatric ophthalmologist who was 99.9pc sure Brody had a rare eye cancer called retinoblastoma.
He was urgently referred to Birmingham Women’s and Children's Hospital, where tests confirmed a grade-D tumour in his right eye.
Brody has since undergone two rounds of intra-arterial chemotherapy since the glow was first noticed in November 2024 and is now receiving laser therapy.
"I cried a lot initially, my worst fear as a mother had come true," Ms Breeze said.
"The unknown around treatment was a lot to handle.
"I was so frightened, I had never had to deal with cancer in my family before."
He has to attend monthly check-ups at the hospital, but is still an "outgoing" child who is "full of beans".
The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) says typical signs of retinoblastoma include a white glow in the eye – which may only appear in certain lighting or in a photo where flash has been used – a squint, a change in the appearance of the eye or a swollen eye.
Richard Ashton, chief executive of CHECT, said: "Brody’s story shows the importance of retinoblastoma awareness among health professionals.
"We are grateful that Brody’s diagnosis was confirmed and that he was able to receive treatment."
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