Four-year-old diagnosed with rare disease, loses eye but stays strong
By Kirra Livingstone
KAYDEN Farrar’s biggest hurdle for the year ahead should have been starting prep at Beerwah State School.
However for Kayden, just two days into his first week of school, his life was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma.
This is a rare childhood cancer that develops in the eye, that typically boys and girls under five-years-old are diagnosed with.
If not found early enough, the rapidly growing cancer can spread to the brain, causing further complications.
Kayden’s mum, noticed one day that his eye looked unusual, to which she figured might have been a lazy eye, a condition she had as a child.
But not convinced, she took Kayden to Beerwah Specsavers and within days, the young boy had been referred to an eye specialist who delivered the heart wrenching news.
To make matters worse it was soon revealed the cancer had spread to 80 per cent of his left eye, requiring immediate emergency eye removal.
His grandmother, Samantha Schuetze, said he will now start six rounds of chemotherapy from Tuesday this week, to ensure the cancer doesn’t spread further.
“There’s no other word for it but ‘horrendous’, to be honest, it’s been very nasty,” she said.
“I don’t know what’s in store for us yet but I really hope it’s a positive outcome.
“It’s a really horrible disease and it can be genetic, or it can just be bad luck.”
Despite the difficult news, Kayden has remained positive about the start of his medical journey.
“He’s going really well, he doesn’t complain much and he hasn’t complained at all about losing his eye because he couldn’t see out of it anyway,” she said.
“He knows he’s got cancer, he knows he hasn’t got an eye, and he knows his eye was sick and that we will have to go back and get more medicine.
“Kayden has a few children books that explains his situation to him which he got from the hospital, and his toy, Ellie the Elephant, who has a removable eye.”
Samantha added that his family were unaware of the pain he was in because it would have intensified over the years.
“We didn’t know he couldn’t see or that he was in pain, but he would actually pull on his hair to relieve the pressure on his eye,” she said.
“The doctor told us he would have been in gradual pain there, and Kayden wouldn’t have realised the pain coming on slowly.”
Key warning signs for retinoblastoma that parents should look out for include a white pupil or white reflex in flash photography, a turned eye, or a larger than usual eye.
His mum, Caitlin, said they had received amazing support from her family and friends during this difficult time.
She also urged parents to always be cautious if they think something is wrong with their child.
“I’d say to parents if something looks wrong, don’t wait on it, because if we had waited it would have been catastrophic,” she said.
Kayden will have a glass eye fitted in a few weeks, which he will have to replace regularly as he grows.
To raise awareness and funds for the disease, Kayden’s family will be holding a raffle benefit at the Beerwah Hotel on Sunday, March 30 from 12-6pm.
Funds will go directly towards the RB clinic at the Queensland Children’s Hospital, who treat eight cases on average per year.
Concerningly, the hospital has already treated five patients for retinoblastoma in less than two months.
Samantha and Caitlin both stressed that early diagnosis can save lives, urging parents to get their kids’ eyes tested.
kirra@gcnews.com.au