Retinoblastoma requires early intervention

Two-year-old Mohiuddin now has a bright future ahead. But he could have gone to the grips of darkness forever, if not for timely intervention and treatment. Even before his birth, Mohiuddin’s parents were warned that the baby may be born with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer. As suspected, when Mohiuddin was found to have the disease in both his eyes, his parents put him on treatment at Narayana Nethralaya.

“I lost my older daughter to the same disease when she was four. When she was a year old, we discovered that she had retinoblastoma. We took her for treatment, but it was already too late. Cancer had started spreading to different parts of her body and after struggling for a few years, we lost her,” recalled Saifullah Khan, a carpenter from RT Nagar and father of Mohiuddin. Khan, who himself was detected with retinoblastoma when he was seven months. Knowing that retinoblastoma is a genetic problem, Khan did not waste a single day for medical intervention. Mohiuddin underwent sessions of chemotherapy and is now undergoing laser therapy. His vision is normal, though he will be on treatment till 15 years of age.

“After losing their first child to retinoblastoma, the couple was reluctant to have another baby as they suspected similar misfortune again. Retinoblastoma is seen among children from inter-family wedlock like Khan’s and is a genetic problem,” said Dr Bhujang Shetty, chairman and medical director, Narayana Nethralaya. He was speaking at the inauguration of the third full-fledged Narayana Nethralaya in Ashokanagar.

“There are 1,300 different genetic disorders which are known to medical science as of now. Among these, 191 genetic disorders are related to eyes alone. At Narayana Nethralaya, we are now focusing on child-centric projects. For the next five years, our prime focus will be ophthalmic diseases due to genetic problems. Free treatment is provided to 20% of our patients. No child is turned down just because parents cannot afford the treatment,” said Dr Rohit Shetty, vice-chairman and consultant, neuro-ophthalmology, refractive surgery and electrophysiology services, Narayana Nethralaya.