Local child battles rare cancer
BY STEFFANEY CLARK Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

St. Ann Discovery School student Lindsey Adams, 3, recently underwent surgery for bilateral retinoblastoma, a rare disease of the eye. To receive treatment, she had to travel to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami to Dr. Timothy Murray, a specialist in this disease.

Lindsey's mother, Nicole Adams and her husband first noticed a problem when their 3- year-old had what appeared to be filmy mucus on their daughter's left eye. Upon closer inspection they realized that when looking into her eye, they could look through her pupil and see behind her eye. They later realized that it was a tumor they were seeing behind her daughter's eye.

A visit to the emergency room at Andrew's Institute and a CT scan showed that Lindsey had retinoblastoma, a rare malignant intraocular tumor beginning in the retina and can pass through the optic nerve and to the brain. Without treatment, patients with retinoblastoma usually die within the first four years of life.

Because this disease is so rare and there are few specialists, Lindsey was rushed to Miami where she met with Dr. Timothy Murray who determined that the tumor in her left eye was so large it had to be removed. He also found two small tumors in her right eye and started to treat those by laser therapy to save the sight of her remaining eye. Upon arriving home, Lindsey has also begun chemo therapy, which she will continue for the next few months along with laser treatments to diminish the threat of the remaining tumors in her right eye.

Lindsey loves to draw, to color, and do all kinds of art, which she has been able to keep up with while in and out of the hospital for the past few months. Lindsey's mother Nicole says "Nothing keeps her down." She also shared how excited Lindsey was to shave her head and be like her big brother Ethan, 5, when her hair began falling out during her Chemotherapy treatments and even wanted to help cut it. She also loves to show people her prosthetic eye.

Nicole says, "We've made it a cool aspect about Lindsey that she can take her eye out when other's have to keep there's in."

Symptoms on retinoblastoma can appear in children as young as 2 years old. Good ways for parents to catch this disease in their young children are regular check-ups with pediatricians, and by taking pictures of their children. Regular eyes will appear red under the flash of a camera, whereas eyes infected with retinoblastoma will appear white.