Detroit Now / WXYZ-TV : Healthy Living

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

H E A L T H Y L I V I N G

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'White Dot' Photos and Eye Cancer
Reported by Carolyn Clifford
Web produced by Kelly Reynolds


	A white dot, instead of a red dot, in photographs could mean a child has retinoblastoma.

A colorful clown for a little girl who's turning one,
but Jennifer Cruz's family hasn't had much to laugh about. Four months ago, Jennifer's mom
noticed something strange about her baby's eye.
She mentioned it to social worker, Susan Slocum.

"Not knowing anything about retinoblastoma, I told her to take a picture and if the baby came out with a white eye we needed to do further steps. She called me back and she showed me the picture," Susan said.

That one picture confirmed Susan's fears.
Jennifer's left eye was red, and her right eye was white. These white dot pictures are the
tragic clues Pam Bergsma has been warning parents about ever since her grandson, Joey died of retinoblastoma.

In flash photography, healthy eyes will reflect red. Take a good look: A white reflection, like this, can signal retinoblastoma or some other eye disease. In Joey's case, his family learned about this life saving clue too late.

Joey's cancer spread to his brain. He was 3 years old. Ever since, his grandmother Pam has been on a mission to spare other families the pain of losing a child. Nine days after this picture was taken of Jennifer, her eye was removed. Jennifer
now wears a prosthetic eye.

"It won't be permanent, it will be custom and will have to be enlarged every three months for a couple of years," the doctor said.

It's hard for Jennifer's parents to watch, but it's overwhelming for them to think about what might have happened.

There is no question Elexis Paul is a happy 2 year old. But Elexis could have lost her eye to retinoblastoma, just like Jennifer.

It's the same eye that showed up white in this picture that Elexis' grandparents took at Disney World.

Cheryl called her daughter who got Elexis to the doctor. The early diagnosis saved Elexis' sight and possibly her life.

"That we were able to detect the tumor at such an early stage and it was 100 percent curable, is full circle from Joey's story," Elexis' mother said.

Retelling Joey's story is painful for grandmother, Pam Bergsma.

"I miss Joey," Pam said.

But she turns that pain into action. Her focus now is making sure pediatricians use an opthalmoscope, which checks for the red reflex in the eyes, every time they go to the doctor.
She's also is trying to get legislation passed that would require eye dilation screening at birth.

It's stories like Jennifers' and Elexis' that inspire Pam to continue her crusade.

"We've got Joey the worst case scenario, little Elexis the best case. She has eye and perfect vision. This was the best thing to happen to one of these children and this is what we'd like to see for all of these little ones," said Pam.