Woman detects 3-month-old son's rare eye cancer using phone's camera flash

The mother used her smartphone's flash to check a reflective glint in her son's eye. (Representational)

Sarah Hedges, a mother of four, discovered her infant son's rare and aggressive eye cancer using the flash on her phone's camera. The story unfolds as Hedges, engrossed in her routine, stumbles upon an unusual gleam in her 3-month-old son Thomas' eye while preparing dinner.

Digging deeper into the details, Hedges, a 40-year-old support worker from Gillingham, Kent, described the reflective glint as resembling "a cat's eye." Intrigued and concerned, she employed her smartphone's flash to check.

Unsure of what she had discovered, Hedges conducted her investigation the next day, moving Thomas around in various rooms with different lighting conditions. To her dismay, the peculiar glow persisted, prompting her to consult the oracle of the modern age – Google. The search results hinted at a possibility that no parent could fathom: cancer.

Hedges presented the photos to a doctor, who, despite initial nonchalance, referred Thomas to Medway Hospital. The subsequent diagnosis confirmed the worst – retinoblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of eye cancer affecting infants and young children. Hedges vividly recounted the moment when the doctor, breaking the news, waited outside the bathroom, a telltale sign that it was anything but good news.

Thomas has had six rounds of chemotherapy at the Royal London Hospital starting November 2022. Battling through complications like sepsis, he completed his last round on April 6, 2023.

Thomas is now on the path to recovery. Hedges describes him as a "cheeky little boy" who enjoys playful interactions with his older brother. He has siblings Beth, 21, Dillan, 16, and Lucas, 8.

The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) says one sign of retinoblastoma is a white glow that may appear only in specific lights, a squint, or changes in eye appearance.