40-year-old UK Mom Detects Infant Son's Rare Eye Cancer Using Mobile Camera

Raga

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posted on 8 months ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Thomas, the 3-month-old son was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that usually develops in early childhood, typically before the age of five.

Sarah Hedges, 40, mother of four children was able to detect the rare eye cancer in her 3-month-old child while using the flash of her smartphone. Residing in Kent, London, Sarah Hudges noticed a “white glow” in her infant son, Thomas, while she was cooking a shepherd’s pie dinner in November 2022.

While talking to the New York Post, Hedges recalled the incident and said that her son’s eye was reflecting the light “like a cat’s eye”, so she used her phone to snap some photos with the flash on to see if she could spot it again. On her first attempt, she was unable to watch the white glow again and wondered whether it was just the lighting.

However, the doubt never left her conscience. “It was playing on my mind, so the next day I moved Thomas around in different rooms near lighting and eventually, I saw it again,” said Sarah Hedges while talking to the media. She immediately turned to Google for more help. Her search results suggested that her son Thomas might have cancer. She took more photos and went to a doctor who directed her to Medway Hospital for further examination.

Thomas was indeed diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that usually develops in early childhood, typically before the age of five. While recalling the nightmare, she said that the doctor called her back into his room to discuss the results while she was in the bathroom. “When I came out, he was waiting for me. I knew then it wasn’t good news- no doctor waits for someone outside the toilet, do they?” Sarah recounted. The doctor told her about the results and said that her son was diagnosed with retinoblastoma.

Thomas was referred to the Royal London Hospital. He had six rounds of chemotherapy that started in November 2022. The 3-month-old infant successfully finished his final round of chemotherapy on April 6, 2023, and was declared cancer-free on May 10. In a recent interaction with several media outlets, Sarah Hedges said that Thomas is recovering well. She describes him as a “cheeky little boy” who loves to rough and tumble with his older brother. Along with Thomas, Sarah Hedges had three other children- Beth, 21, Dillan, 16 and Lucas 8.