The mother and children who all beat eye cancer with different pioneering treatments

source: Dail Mail UK1)

But then both her children were diagnosed with the disease and faced the same agonising battle to save their sight.

Mrs Carmichael, a 34-year- old midwife, was found to have retinoblastoma when she was three months old.

Scroll down for more...

'We feel very lucky': Kirsteen Carmichael with Beth and Ross who all beat eye cancer

She was a day away from having both eyes removed when doctors came up with pioneering laser treatment to save her sight.

She was finally given the all-clear at the age of 24 and had her first child, Ross, when she was 25.

He had to have radiotherapy on tumours on his right eye, while his sister Beth became the first girl in the UK to have a pioneering form of chemotherapy treatment injected into her eye.

Ross, nine, has been given the all-clear and seven-year-old Beth should be given it this year.

"We feel very lucky," said Mrs Carmichael. "Not only did I nearly lose my sight, but the children have both had to battle eye cancer too.

"But the doctors have managed to save all our eyes, which is amazing. Now all three of us have beaten cancer we can look forward to the future together." Retinoblastoma is a rare cancer which develops in the growing cells of the retina.

It can run in families and usually occurs in children under five.

Mrs Carmichael's greatgrandfather and grandfather lost both of their eyes to the cancer.

Several other relatives lost one eye.

Mrs Carmichael, who lives with her policeman husband Stephen, 34, in Elgin, near Inverness, was treated successfully at St Bartholomew's Hospital in the City of London.

Her son Ross was born in 1998 and for 15 months his eyes were clear.

Then doctors discovered a tumour on his right eye. He was given radiotherapy at Barts and received the all-clear in November.

Beth, born in 2001, was diagnosed with eye cancer in her right eye at five weeks old.

Since the pioneering chemotherapy treatment at Barts, which finished in 2002, there has been no sign of the tumour returning.

The Carmichaels hope that Beth, who has perfect sight in her left eye and limited sight in her right, will be told later this year that she no longer needs to return to Barts. Ross has perfect sight in both eyes.

"We can't thank the doctors enough," said Mrs Carmichael.

For more information on retinoblastoma, contact the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust at www.chect.org.uk

ADVERTISEMENT

Iconocast is about learning and teaching without borders; we offer eMarketing, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online Branding, and eMarketing News Services.

Iconocast Home Page

Contact Iconocast

Iconocast Health Articles

© 2003-07. ICONOCAST is a trademark of iconocast.com.