How is retinoblastoma diagnosed?

Even though doctors are trained to check for retinoblastoma, it's often first noticed by the family. Watch HealthMaker David Abramson, MD, chief of the Ophthalmic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, describe the early signs.

Transcript

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They notice a glint or a glare or a whiteness. They don't recognize it, but what they are seeing

00:07

is actually the cancer itself, right through the eye. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:29

It's interesting-- in the United States, pediatricians are required to test

00:36

in advance to look for only one cancer, and that's retinoblastoma. And they're required to do it many times

00:43

during the first two years of life. Despite that, 95% of all children with retinoblastoma

00:51

are diagnosed by a family member, and 90% of them by the mother. What the mother notices is that in the central part of the eye,

01:00

in the black pupil, they notice a glint or a glare or a whiteness. They don't recognize it, but what they are seeing

01:09

is actually the cancer itself, right through the eye. It usually is then brought to the attention

01:16

of a medical professional, pediatrician, or ophthalmologist, and ultimately gets into my hands.