An Arkansas family of five was plunged into a holiday nightmare when they learned their one-year-old daughter had a rare eye cancer.
The family was preparing for the Christmas holiday on December 18 when they noticed baby Lily’s left eye was swollen. Worried, they rushed her to the hospital.
Doctors performed a CT scan after noticing something was in his eye. They learned it was a rare retinal cancer called retinoblastoma.
Josh Morss, Lily’s father, said: “I broke down. I cried. She cried.
“We thought, ‘Our little girl was going through something unimaginable.'”
That same day, Lily was transferred to St Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Once there, oncologists determined that the best course of action was to remove his left eye.
Meanwhile, they would take samples of bone marrow and cerebrospinal fluid to identify whether the cancer had spread to other parts of his body.
Upon removing her left eye, surgeons discovered that Lily also had two tumors in her right eye, requiring six rounds of chemotherapy to try to shrink them. According to his mother, Casie, “his doctor is 80 percent confident he can save his right eye.”
Lily’s father Josh (pictured) said the family noticed her left eye looked red and swollen on December 18. Doctors discovered that he had retinal cancer, as well as tumors in his right eye.
Doctors had to remove Lily’s left eye. In about eight weeks, he will have a prosthetic eye fitted while he undergoes chemotherapy.
On Christmas Eve, Mr Morss revealed on Facebook that the cancer in Lily’s eyes had not spread elsewhere. “However, we will be going back and forth to Memphis for the next month for treatment and appointments,” he added.
The family has divided their time between their home in Paragould, Arkansas, and Memphis, an arrangement that has taken a significant financial toll.
Mr Morss said: “I haven’t been to work since December 16 and I’m the only one working.”
Lily just finished her first round of chemotherapy and has five more to go.
Her parents said she is still in good spirits, posting photos of their little girl laughing in the hospital or smiling with her head resting on her father’s shoulder.
Mr Morss said: “She is showing us the courage we need to have.”
Retinoblastoma is a rare cancer of the retina, the innermost layer of the eye located towards the back of the eye. It is responsible for receiving light and images.
Approximately 300 children are diagnosed with cancer in the US each year, according Texas Children’s Hospital, which accounts for about three percent of childhood cancers. It usually occurs in children three years old or younger and is very rare in children older than six.
Lily, 1, is pictured after her first day of chemotherapy to shrink tumors in her right eye. Doctors believe there is a high probability of saving him.
Lily, pictured with her mother Casie, has a long road ahead of her, including five more chemotherapy treatments in four months.
However, cancer has a high survival rate of 96 percent after five years, and nine out of 10 children can be cured. Ninety percent of pediatric patients will have normal vision in at least one eye after treatment.
Doctors may suspect retinoblastoma if a child has white discoloration in the eye, swelling, redness around the eye, or vision loss.
Treatment includes chemotherapy, laser therapy or cryotherapy to try to destroy the tumor, but in severe cases it may be necessary to remove the eye.
Lily still has about 20 more weeks to go back and forth from Arkansas to St. Jude for chemotherapy treatments with the goal of shrinking the cancer enough to restore her vision in her right eye to 20/20.
And in about eight weeks, he will have a prosthetic eye placed where his left eye was removed.