A two-year-old American was saved from retinoblastoma thanks to a photo. In France, the Institut Curie is launching an awareness campaign on this rare childhood cancer.
A simple photo can save a life. Two months ago, in Rockford, Illinois, little American Avery Fitzgerald was saved from rare eye cancer thanks to a photograph. It is while looking at her son in full light that Julie Fitzgerald, the mother of the child, “notices something in the back of the eye”, she explains, to the site Wrex, a subsidiary of the American chain NBC.
She then noticed that a white reflection replaced the red of the eye often produced by the flash of cameras. The young mother then decides to do some research on the internet and discovers on Facebook the testimony of a woman who had discovered cancer in the eye of her child.
A mother’s intuition
She decides to talk about it to her husband who tells her not to worry, relates the American site. But Julie Fitzgerald senses that something is wrong. To be sure, she decides to take a picture of Avery. “I took a photo, although I didn’t want to because I had this scary feeling in my stomach. His entire pupil was white, so I knew, ”explains the young mother.
She then decides to take her son to a specialist. The verdict falls. Avery suffers from retinoblastoma. As cancerous tumors cover 75% of the eye, it had to be completely removed. Luckily for Avery, the cancer cells didn’t have time to touch his brain or his blood, the story says. NBC. The parents have since created a Web site to collect donations to heal the little boy. They have raised over $ 5,000 so far.
An awareness spot
In France,Curie Institute and the Retinostop association produced a spot to educate the general public, but also healthcare professionals, on the signs of retinoblastoma. Objective: to allow an early diagnosis to avoid serious consequences.
This rare cancer which affects children, is characterized by “a white reflection in the pupil, visible in certain lighting conditions such as the flash of a camera, or the persistence of a strabismus”, we can read in the Institute’s press release.
A delay in diagnosis can lead to enucleation (removal of the eye), the last therapeutic solution. Retinoblastoma affects twelve cases in one million children, most often under the age of five. In France, 60 children are affected by this pathology each year.
The spot will be broadcast on television and on the Retinostop and Institut Curie websites.
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