Mum detected son's cancer in holiday hotel photograph

Victoria Walsh, 33, was on a trip to Tenerife in May 2023 when she spotted a ''funny glare'' in his right eye.

She quickly took a snap on her phone of son, George, two, to get a better look at the problem - and found it looked like an "odd white circle" in his eye.

The mum-of-two, from Croft, then checked with her mum, Janet, 60, a director, who advised her to seek medical attention.

Worried, Victoria asked an optician friend who recommended they return home to the UK ''as soon as possible''.

After just six days into the ten-day holiday, the family were forced to book early flights back to Warrington, with her partner, George's dad.

They went straight to the optician who quickly referred them to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Three days after an ultrasound test the tot was diagnosis of retinoblastoma - a rare form of eye cancer that often affects children.

As the cancer was advanced, stage D, medics could not save the tot's eyesight but quickly started a course of chemotherapy to prevent it spreading.

George is currently undergoing treatment and Victoria is remaining positive for the future.

The mum, who is also mum to Ava, four, said: "Going back through old photos I noticed the glint when he was just three months old, if I had known then, I could have saved his eyesight.

''I do feel guilty - I could have spotted it sooner.

"But it wasn't until spoke to my optician friend did I what to look for.

"I'm really hoping to raise awareness so other mum's don't have to go through this."

Victoria was six days into a dream family holiday when George's dad noticed a ''white speck'' in their son's eye while getting the lift in the hotel.

He noticed in the usual 'glaze' in George's eye in the reflection of the lift mirror.

Having a gut instinct ''something wasn't right'' the family returned home after medical advice.

"I'd seen a funny glare in his eye with the naked eye and so I asked my mom about it and she asked if it was bright, I said I don't think so and she recommended I take a photo in the dark with flash on,'' she said.

"My mum recognised it as something bad because she had a friend who lost an eye to cancer.

"He had no other symptoms at all, which made it even stranger."

Doctors in the UK quickly established the cancer diagnosis and set about treatment.

It was decided George would undergo a risky intra-arterial chemotherapy through the eye cavity.

Victoria said: ''The possibility of him having a stroke was real, they had to have a stroke team on hand in case anything went wrong, it's a major surgery.

"It went on for about 40 minutes.

"We literally sat waiting in the ward, constantly clock watching worried and waiting for news about the operation.

"George was oblivious - he was two he didn't have a clue what was going on.

"We went home the same day and get continued taking painkillers to help with the pain." - chemo (two nights stay) / had to be monitored every 15min-30 George's treatment is ongoing, and he is currently having treatment on the tumour to reduce the size.

Despite losing his sight, George has been able to keep the eye, and if the tumour ever grows or changes, he may have to have it removed.

Victoria said: "It's not a cancer you can just cut out or get treated right away.

"It's been quite a whirlwind, it's a shock but I'm a mum on a mission to get it sorted, to be strong for George.

"He gets on okay; he has night terrors; he goes under every four weeks, and I think that's a side effect of the anaesthesia.

"He says his eyes quite sore, he's pain relief as and when he needs it, but otherwise he's a strong little boy, he gets on with it.'' Victoria is now speaking out to warn other parents.

She said: "Go get it checked, you better be safe than sorry, take a photo with a flash every so often with your newborns.

''If there's a difference in the eyes get it checked, just in case.''