A British mother of four reported that she was able to detect the rare cancer her infant son suffered from using the flash on her phone camera.

Sarah Hedges, 40 years old, was cooking dinner in November 2022 when she looked at her three-month-old son Thomas and noticed a "white glow" in his eye.

Hedges said his eye was reflecting light "like a cat's eye" - so she used her phone to take pictures with the flash to see if she could detect the glow again.

She added: "I couldn't see it again, so I wondered if it was just the lighting, and the next day I moved Thomas around different rooms near the light, and eventually I saw it again."

Hedges resorted to Google, where her results indicated that Thomas might have cancer, so she showed the photos to the doctor.

However, the doctor did not seem worried, but he referred Thomas to Medway Hospital.

Thomas was indeed diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of eye cancer that affects infants and young children.

Thomas was indeed diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of eye cancer that affects infants and young children.

Hedges explained that the doctor called her back to his office to discuss the results, and before he said anything she asked him: Is it cancer? He said: I am sorry, this is not good news."

Thomas was referred to the Royal London Hospital where he underwent six rounds of chemotherapy starting in November 2022.

After struggling with sepsis, he finished his last round of chemotherapy on April 6, 2023, and recovered from the disease on May 10, 2023.

The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) confirmed that signs of retinoblastoma include a white glow – which may only appear in certain lights or strabismus – in addition to a change in the appearance of the eye, or eye swelling.

Often, only one sign or symptom is present.

Richard Ashton, CEO of CHECT, explained that symptoms can be very subtle, and children often look well, which can make diagnosis difficult, and in just under half the cases, the child's eye must be removed as part of the treatment."