A toddler’s parents were left devastated after a simple white glow in his eye turned out to be cancer. Shane Stevenson, 35, and his partner, Lowri Gallagher, 30, noticed something unusual with their one-year-old son Kooper’s left eye in December 2024. They spotted a white glow, but it was only visible in low light or when they took a picture with the flash on.
Shane initially dismissed it, but after a few days, he noticed it again and took Kooper to the doctor. “My partner first noticed a white glow in Kooper’s eye in low-light conditions. I dismissed it at first and then noticed it myself a couple of days later – then kept seeing it,” Shane explained. The concerned parents Googled it and found advice to take a photo with the flash on, which made the white glow even more obvious, reported the Mirror.
The weekend was filled with worry, as Shane constantly researched the possible causes. After seeing the doctor, Kooper was referred to Royal Glamorgan Hospital for an ultrasound, which showed a lump in his eye. Shane recalled, “It was another scary time, not knowing what was wrong.” A few days later, they were told that Kooper would need to be transferred to a hospital in Birmingham, but the doctors didn’t directly mention the retinoblastoma team. “The heartbreak really hit when we left the hospital and got to the car park – and realised what we were dealing with,” Shane said.
Kooper was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer that affects children under six. Shane described his emotions upon hearing the news: “It was heartbreaking to hear that your son had cancer. There was so much going through my head about whether or not he would need to get his eye taken out.”
Since then, Kooper has started intra-arterial chemotherapy, a targeted treatment that delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to the area. He’s also had laser therapy and chemotherapy injections. Shane said the results have been “mixed,” but noted, “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.”
Kooper’s treatment has also come with its challenges. Shane explained that when Kooper is on steroids, he becomes very distressed for four to five days, which makes it difficult for his parents to manage work and care for him. Despite this, Kooper enjoys trips to the hospital.
The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) has been a crucial source of support for the family. 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 has had the biggest impact.”
Shane has also been doing his part to raise awareness and funds for CHECT, running the ABP Newport 10K in April and planning to run the Chepstow 10K in August to support the charity.
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