The life of a four-month baby was saved by his mother, as a rare eye cancer was detected by camera flash. Andrea Temarantz took a picture of her beloved son and when she took a closer look at it she noticed some weird lighting on his left eye.

As ABC News has reported, the white glow on little Ryder Temarantz’s eye was a warning towards his condition. However, the glow was only visible when she took photos with flash.

The first time Andrea took notice of this aspect was when she was looking through the photos taken in January this year. However, her first reaction was to blame the quality of the phone camera. Fortunately, she also had the inspiration to take pictures of Ryder with a brand new Nikon D3300 DSLR received from her cousin on Christmas. When the same glow appeared on her son’s eye on the photos, Andrea decided to take him to the doctor.

The mother told the pediatrician what she has noticed and over the next 24 hours she was redirected to a specialist, who managed to give her a verdict. Unfortunately, little Ryder was suffering from a very rare form of eye cancer, named retinoblastoma. He was diagnosed on January 6.

Even though this is a rare type on cancer in general, it is usually found in children. The American Cancer Society has previously stated that each year between 200 and 300 people are diagnosed with retinoblastoma. The cancer is usually discovered by the parents or relatives of the little ones.

Because screenings are not really recommended, Andrea went further and took Ryder to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she found out with dread that her son has a tumor of grade C. Ryder’s parents were given two choices: either remove the eye or pursue intravenous chemotherapy. Since they did not want to do either because their son also suffers from the Down Syndrome, they paid a visit to the Memorial Cancer Center Sloan Kettering located in New York City.

The team of experts there suggested another method, much more effective and less invasive: administering a very small amount of chemotherapy through a narrow tube directly into the affected eye. Ophthalmic Oncology Service chief David H. Abramson believes Ryder has a 99% chance to recover from retinoblastoma, as the center has a history of saving 95% of the eyes it treated in the past.

As a rare eye cancer was detected by camera flash, maybe it is time to think of simple and accessible methods of detecting various diseases and conditions. Since Ryder Temarantz’s life was saved by a mobile phone, who knows what devices might save our lives in the future?

Image Source: The Times