Perth Mother Runs to Raise Retinoblastoma Awareness After Son's Diagnosis

A Perth mother is preparing to run in the HBF Run For a Reason on May 24 after her 16-month-old son was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer. All it took was a photo for the mother to notice a white reflection in her son's pupil. She took him for a medical review, which led to a diagnosis of non-hereditary retinoblastoma at Perth Children's Hospital in January.

The boy is currently receiving systemic chemotherapy twice a month.

Treatment options for retinoblastoma include full-body chemotherapy, injections into the eye or artery, and removal of the eye if necessary. The mother said the tumour has caused a retinal detachment, which may require enucleation. "Two days out of every month, Peter's been having systemic chemotherapy just to make sure that it hadn't escaped the eye, and there weren't any seeds that had entered his body," the mother said.

The mother said the diagnosis prompted her to raise awareness of the disease's early signs, such as a white reflex in the pupil or a lazy eye.

"We'd never heard of retinoblastoma before, it was just not something that we even knew we needed to look for, which is part of why I dedicated to do the run for a reason," the mother said. HBF chief executive Lachlan Henderson said the event has raised more than $15 million for health and community organisations since 2010.

The mother encourages parents to seek medical attention if they notice anything unusual in their child's eyes. The run starts at the corner of Hay Street and William Street and finishes at Gloucester Park.