Eye cancer 

  • Eye cancer

Introduction 

Coping with cancer

In this video, people who have been through cancer treatment talk about what kept them going and the practicalities of treatment.

What is cancer?

The body is made up of millions of different types of cells. Cancer happens when some of the cells multiply in an abnormal way. When cancer affects organs and solid tissues, it causes a growth called a tumour to form. Cancer can occur in any part of the body where the cells multiply abnormally.

The most common type of cancer to affect the eye is ocular melanoma, or melanoma of the eye.

Melanoma of the eye

Melanoma is cancer that develops from pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. Most melanomas begin to grow in the skin, but it is possible for melanomas to begin in other parts of the body such as the eye.

Ocular melanoma is rare: approximately 500 new cases are diagnosed in the UK each year. The incidence of ocular melanoma increases with age and most cases are diagnosed in people in their 50s.

Symptoms include blurred vision, flashing lights, shadows and cataracts (misting of the lens in your eye).

The outlook for ocular melanoma depends on how advanced it is when you are diagnosed and which parts of the eye are involved. Of people diagnosed with early-stage melanoma, when the cancer is still small, about 84% will live for at least five years after diagnosis.

Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is a rare type of eye cancer that affects children younger than five. It is usually caught and treated early in the UK, which is why over 98% of children with retinoblastoma are successfully treated.

Last reviewed: 23/03/2012

Next review due: 23/03/2014

Comments

1 Comments

Our rules

Comments are personal views. Any information they give has not been checked and may not be accurate.

magicbeads said on 18 April 2011

The survival depends on the genes of your tumor. My eye tumor was small even after treatment I had normal vision. I developed mets at 2 1/4 years so the size is not as important as the genes. There are 3 centres in England London Liverpool and Sheffield. London and Sheffield rarely do genetic studies Liverpool will offer it. London will do it if you ask but youhave to know about it to ask it has to be done at the time of radiation not afterwards. The advantage of knowing is you can buy private scans and detect mets early. The blood tests are useless I have had 2 liver resections and SIRT and lived 2 years post liver mets. I am alive because I was prepared to pay for treatments that NHS would not. I have run marathons extreme skiing ascending my first 4000m peak SCUBA dived in that time a good life if I had followed advice of NHS I would have died 18months ago. The NHS has no plan to treat or extend your life if you get mets. Ultimately at 25 years post diagnosis 60% will have developed spread of their disease. There are treatments that can prolong your life and keep it good quality but most oncologists will watch you die. I know I had many advantages because I practised medicine for 25 years and had no kids so I had more disposable income. Liver resection and SIRT has to be done early ultrasound will not detedt lesions early enough and plain MRI will not detect early enough for liver resection - ideally less than 4 lesion and all under 1 cm.
My risk with a small choroidal melanoma age 48 of dieing in 5 years from diagnosis was 25-30% nobody has a lower risk than that without having information from biopsy.
I think the reference to 84% refers to skin melanoma. we have diferent genetic flaws and a diferent type of disease ours spreads microscopically before the cancer is treated and may lie dormant for many years. We are excluded from trials for melanoma because we do not respond the same as them.
Open your eyes . I found eyecancerfourm.co.uk help.

Report this content as offensive or unsuitable

Useful links

NHS Choices links

External links

Cancer and hair loss

A side effect of some cancer treatments is losing your hair. Here are some tips on how to cope and where to get support

Retinoblastoma

Information for parents or carers of children who have just been diagnosed with this form of eye cancer

  • Link to Directgov – public services all in one place
  • The Information Standard - Certified member