A mother-of-one has revealed how bruising on her son’s eyelid that caused flu-like symptoms turned out to be a rare form of cancer.
Four-year-old Luca Kitson, who lives with his family in Bibra Lake, south-west of Perth, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma just before his second birthday in
Luca was playing in the family’s backyard while they lived in the mining town of Kalgoorlie when he slipped and fell on some gravel.
He suffered some minor scars and a bump on his forehead, but his mother Diana noticed an “unusual” bruise on his right eyelid a few days later.
She became even more worried when Luca developed dark spots on his eyelids, developed a fever, started vomiting, and lost his appetite.
His father Jeff took him to the GP and Luca was given antibiotics, but a visit to hospital the next day confirmed the mother-of-three’s worst fears.
Pediatricians found tumors in Luca’s kidney and in several other parts of his body.
‘My heart sank. “At that moment I remembered an out-of-body experience,” Mrs Kitson said. 7news.
In the photo from LR, Jeff, Luca and Diana Kitson with the end of treatment bell. The four-year-old was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer, just before his second birthday.
Luca was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that develops in nerve tissue, at Perth Children’s Hospital (pictured).
Luca and his mother were flown to Perth Children’s Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, where tests revealed Luca had high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that develops in nerve tissue.
Further scans also confirmed that tumors had grown at the base of Luca’s skull and that the abnormal tissue growth had spread to his optic nerve, causing blindness in his right eye.
“I remember the oncologist saying, ‘cancer doesn’t discriminate,'” Mrs. Kitson said.
Luca underwent 15 months of grueling treatment that included chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, immunotherapy and radiotherapy.
The family was forced to sell their home in Kalgoorlie and move to Perth to support Luca during his treatment.
Kitson said the life-changing diagnosis had been difficult.
‘Ultimately, I don’t think I could have gotten through this without the nurses (on) the ward. They just understood and made us feel safe,” Mrs Kitson said.
Luca’s family now hopes that his cancer does not relapse and that the little boy survives five years after treatment.
Cancer statistics often use a five-year survival rate to indicate when a patient no longer has the disease.
About 40 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma in Australia each year and the overall survival rate is 76 per cent.
High-risk neuroblastoma has a cure rate of only 50%.
Donations can be made to Perth Children’s Hospital at the following link.