A MORAY mother has revealed the heartbreaking battle to save her little girl’s sight after surgeons were left with no choice but to leave a massive tumour behind her eye.
Samantha Duncan was devastated when her daughter Brooke was diagnosed with a rare type of childhood cancer that affects the retina.
Doctors later discovered that the tumour, which had been growing behind her right eye, was benign.
But Mrs Duncan, 27, was told that the growth – no bigger than a 10p piece – would be impossible to get rid of without removing the seven-year-old’s eye.
Brooke’s family, who live at Lossiemouth, are now left with the prospect that the cancer may return.
Mrs Duncan said that until – and even if – that day comes, her only aim is to make sure her daughter lives like any other little girl her age.
“The chances are very slim that the cancer will come back – but then again, everything for Brooke throughout this whole ordeal has been unusual,” she said.
“She was my healthy child, and then all of a sudden this happened. I went into full panic mode. Until something changes, she will always be just a normal kid to us.”
Mrs Duncan took Brooke to see an optician in November when she started squinting and suffering from headaches.
“My first reaction was that she needed glasses,” Mrs Duncan said.
“But when the optician called another person into the room to give a second opinion, my mother’s instinct kicked in and I knew something was wrong.”
Believing the mass they had found might be a cyst, the opticians referred Brooke to Dr Gray’s Hospital at Elgin, then Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, where doctors carried out more tests.
Mrs Duncan had to handle the whole ordeal herself as her husband James – an RAF corporal – was deployed to Afghanistan in November, where he was serving with the 617 Dambusters Squadron.
Specialists in Birmingham eventually revealed that Brooke had retinoblastoma, a rapidly developing cancer that forms in the light-detecting tissue of the eye. But the medics were puzzled as it was incredibly rare for children aged over five to develop the disease.
Brooke had also shown none of the classic signs of the condition, such as a white eye in a photograph.
Faced with the prospect of her daughter having chemotherapy, Mrs Duncan was relieved when doctors revealed that the tumour had regressed.
With the possibility that the cancer could come back, Brooke must now have regular tests to catch it early.
“I asked them how on earth the tumour had stopped itself growing,” Mrs Duncan said. “They said it’s very rare, but can happen. That in itself is a miracle. But Brooke, being Brooke, likes to be different.”
Mrs Duncan said the most chilling thought of all was that the cancer might not have been detected if she had not taken her daughter for an eye test.
“It’s scary to think that I didn’t have a clue,” she said. “She looked completely normal. We’ve been incredibly lucky so far. Brooke’s never had any form of chemotherapy or treatment and we can only hope it stays that way.
“She now needs to wear glasses, but she’s a fit and active child who can go out and play with friends.
“The thought that the cancer might come back is one that we have to keep in the back of our minds.
“I would urge any parent to take their child to get their eyes checked – whether they have symptoms or not.”