On January 15, 1998, Katya was born to Hunter and Michael. She weighed a healthy 7 lb., 7 oz. and her beautiful eyes were the first feature to catch their attention. Little did they know what was to come.

(Read More)

At age six, Zachary tried on a new pair of swimming goggles and complained that he couldn't see through the left side. His mother, Robin, returned the goggles thinking they were defective; only the problem wasn't with the goggles. Zack couldn't see because he had retinoblastoma in his left eye, a rarity for a child his age. Before this incident, Zack had known about the vision loss for about a month, confiding only in his four-year-old girlfriend.  (Read More)

I was too young, less than a year old in 1938, to remember anything about my diagnosis with retinoblastoma and the subsequent decision to enucleate my right eye. Dad had noticed that I was turning away from the light, and wisely had Dr. Joseph Dessoff, an ophthalmologist and family friend, examine me. Dr. Dessoff spotted the tumor and then had me examined by a group of doctors at Johns Hopkins, who confirmed his diagnosis. The doctors at Hopkins told my parents that they would miss my eye far more than I would. The doctors were right.

(Read More)

Shortly after Emily's 2nd birthday in April 1996, her mother saw a milky white spot in her left eye. No one else saw the spot for several weeks and we had no idea what it might be. When the spot appeared more obvious, Emily was taken to an optometrist. He had a difficult time examining Emily and suggested that she be taken to a pediatric ophthalmologist. It was there that we first heard the word "retinoblastoma" and our roller coaster ride with Rb began. He referred Emily to Dr. Murphree, a leader in the treatment of Rb. (Read More)

At birth, Jessica's parents had observed that their newborn baby's eyes were misaligned. She was barely two months old when they noticed that her eyes did not always move together.

(Read More)

These words that Amy shared at a church service recently represent the incredible grace and strength of this special young girl. As she confidently shared her story, her parents could only think of what a remarkable eight years it had been since they had first heard the word retinoblastoma.

(Read More)

Nineteen-month-old Jalen was diagnosed November, 1999, with bilateral retinoblastoma at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. It came as quite a shock to his parents Kristi and Tom. Before that day they had never heard of the disease. (Read More)

I was only two and a half back in '85. My father's good friend, Ed, begged for him to take me to a doctor after noticing I had a "lazy eye". My parents immediately brought me for a checkup. Our eye doctor detected that, at the tender age of two and a half, I had retinoblastoma. (Read More)

Diagnosed when she was almost 4 months old, 7 year old Emma is a survivor of bilateral retinoblastoma. Her parents thought Emma had a lazy eye. Their pediatrician referred them to a pediatric ophthalmologist. He dilated her eyes and studied her for what seemed an interminable amount of time. The shocking diagnosis was 6 tumors in each eye. He said they are always malignant. As devastating as the news was, the Ashford family was thankful to have caught the disease early. (Read More)

Rory Anne was born on August 29, 2002. With her older sister and brother, she made our family complete. The wellness check up at two weeks was the first suggestion something could be less than perfect. Dr. Grady Huckaby of Irvine, Ca. took the time needed to examine her eyes. As he detected no red reflection in the right eye, he recommended we see a pediatric ophthalmologist who diagnosed Rory with bilateral Rb. (Read More)

By the time Tyler was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma, one eye needed to be enucleated immediately, the other treated aggressively.

He was 15 months old and for the next several years he spent a great deal of time at the hospital.

(Read More)