Shane Stevenson and his partner Lowri Gallagher said they noticed a troubling white glow in their one-year-old son Kooper’s eye which was later diagnosed as eye cancer
A toddler’s parents were left heartbroken after a white glow they noticed in his left eye turned out to be cancer.
Shane Stevenson, 35, and his partner, Lowri Gallagher, 30, said their lives changed after they noticed something wrong with their then one-year-old son Kooper’s eye, one night while at home in December, 2024. The parents spotted a white glow, but it was only noticeable in low light or when they took a picture with the flash on. Shane revealed he dismissed it at first but later took Kooper to the doctors, where they were then told the heartbreaking news.
Shane said: “My partner first noticed a white glow in Kooper’s eye in low-lights conditions. I dismissed it at first and then noticed it myself a couple of days later – then kept seeing it.
“We Googled it and came across some advice that said to take a photo with the flash on, and the white glow in his eye was obvious then.” Shane said the weekend was “full of panic” and he would constantly be Googling the causes.
After a visit to the doctor, Kooper was transferred to Royal Glamorgan Hospital for an ultrasound, which showed he had a lump in his eye. Shane said they were referred to the local hospital a few days later, and said: “It was another scary time, not knowing what was wrong.
“We’d read that there could be a few other reasons for the obscured red reflex in his eye, so we tried to hold onto hope for a different diagnosis. After an ultrasound, they told us he had a lump in his eye and that ‘it could be serious, or it could be not as serious’, which wasn’t overly helpful.
“They said he would be referred to Birmingham, but didn’t mention the retinoblastoma team. I think the heartbreak really hit when we left the hospital and got to the car park – and realised what we were dealing with.”
Kooper was diagnosed with retinoblastoma – a type of eye cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the retina – in December 2024. His form of cancer is rare and typically affects children under the age of six.
Shane said: “It is hard to describe my feeling in that moment, it was heartbreaking to hear that your song had cancer. There was so much going through my head about whether or not he would need to get his eye taken out.”
Kooper started intra-arterial chemotherapy – a targeted cancer treatment where chemotherapy drugs are delivered directly to the area – in December, before having laser therapy and one round of chemotherapy injections.
The tot is still undergoing treatment, and Shane said the results have been “mixed”. The dad added: “The first two intra-arterial rounds were somewhat effective, the third was very effective, but the fourth had little impact. They said at his last examination that the tumour looks smaller, but the spores in his eye are growing, so hopefully the injection has had a positive effect on that.
“After treatment, when he is on steroids, Kooper becomes very distressed for four to five days, which has been difficult. My partner and I both work, and we can’t send him to nursery when he’s like that, but he does like going on trips to the hospital.”
The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) is urging parents and healthcare professionals to be aware of the most common possible symptoms of eye cancer – a white glow in the eye in a flash photo or in certain light, and a squint. Shane said: “CHECT have been great, we had the initial grant which helped with travel costs etc.
“Our support worker has been to see us every time we’ve been to the hospital, which probably has had the biggest impact, having an impartial point of contact to speak to and get information from, she always engaged with us and with Kooper. She also helped us with the DLA forms and also signposted us to different services. I took on the ABP Newport 10K for CHECT in April, and I’m taking on the Chepstow 10K in August to raise money for the charity.”