You can use your smartphone to determine if your child has a deadly form of cancer. Here's how.
We take pics of our kids because they're cute. We can also do it to detect cancer.
Retinoblastoma is a dangerous form of cancer.
While retinoblastoma is a rare form of cancer, it's actually the most common eye cancer that affects children. It generally develops in children under 4 years old, and 18 months is the average age of diagnosis.
The good news is that when it's caught early, retinoblastoma is highly treatable. Early detection can save a child's vision — and their life because when retinoblastoma advances and spreads, it can be deadly.
You can easily check to see if your child has it.
Retinoblastoma can often be detected with a photo because the flash can cause the pupil to turn white if it's present.
So pull out your cellphone, turn on the flash, and snap a photo of your kiddo. It's that simple. If you see white in one or both of your child's pupils unexplained by lighting conditions — especially if you've noticed other retinoblastoma symptoms like squinting or lazy eye, redness or swelling not due to infection, a change in iris color, or vision loss — schedule an appointment with their doctor immediately.