A little girl was diagnosed with a rare cancer after her mum spotted a small change in her eye. Elise Seal, 25, noticed that her daughter Esmae’s eye had changed from its usual green and brown colour to a dark brown. They were on holiday at the time and when the family returned to the UK, Elise then saw that Esmae’s eye had a white “glow”.
She took her to the optician and tests discovered that Esmae, now five, had retinoblastoma – a rare type of eye cancer which can affect young children. Esmae has since had to have the eye removed – known as an enucleation – and has been fitted with a prosthetic. She also had to go through six rounds of chemotherapy. But her mum said she had “recovered well”.
Elise, from Birmingham, said: “Esmae is a sassy little princess. If you look at her now you wouldn’t think she had gone through something so big. Esmae is always doing something. She is outgoing – she is just an amazing little girl. When we got the diagnosis, Callum and I broke down in tears. I didn’t know about retinoblastoma and we didn’t know if she was going to die.”
Elise, partner Callum Bissett, 26, a quality inspector, and Esmae were on holiday on the Costa Brava, Spain, when she noticed the colour change, in June last year. She noticed it was also slightly bloodshot and put it down to chlorine. Elise said: “We got home four days later and Esmae was at her grandma’s house. Her grandma said her eye looked strange. As I went to go to her, the sun was in her eye and I noticed a white glow in her pupils.”
On July 5, 2023, Elise took Esmae to the opticians, who transferred her to Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre. Doctors looked at Esmae’s eye and asked Elise if there was a history of eye cancer in the family. Elise said: “I think I knew then that it was really bad.â€
Doctors transferred Esmae to Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Just two days later, Esmae was diagnosed with retinoblastoma and doctors told Elise the only option was to remove her eye. Elise said: “They took us into a side room with tissues and a sofa – I knew at that moment. They sat us down and said how she had retinoblastoma and it was at stage E. They discussed the only treatment they could offer was an enucleation – a removal of the eye – as the tumour was so bad.”
Esmae had her right eye removed on July 18, 2023. The eye was taken for a biopsy and on August 3, 2023, an oncology doctor explained that they found cancer cells in her optic nerve.
Elise said: “Due to this, she had to have six rounds of intensive chemotherapy. Callum and I were heartbroken. They went through all the side effects of chemotherapy and we were both so scared. They even mentioned she would have trouble having babies in the future, so they offered to have one of Esmae’s ovaries removed and freeze her eggs for when she is older. We just couldn’t believe our little girl would have to go through even more terrifying things.”
Esmae started chemotherapy on August 7, 2023, and had her ovary removed a few weeks later. Esmae underwent six rounds of chemotherapy which finished on December 7, 2023. Elise said: “It was an amazing day, it was Christmas time so Santa came around that day, which was very special. Around 4pm, Esmae finished her final chemotherapy and we were all dancing and clapping. It was a huge weight off our shoulders that our little girl had accomplished something so big.”
Esmae, five, with mum Elise Seal, 25, dad Callum Bissett, 26, and her baby sister
Esmae, who has just turned five, has recovered well and has started school full-time. Elise said: “She has an MRI scan every three months for the first year to double-check everything. She is a happy, healthy, beautiful five-year-old girl. She’s gone back into school full time now and enjoying the things she couldn’t do whilst having chemotherapy. I am so proud that she is my daughter.”
Richard Ashton, chief executive of CHECT, the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, said: “Retinoblastoma is rare, with around one baby or young child being diagnosed in the UK each week. Symptoms can be quite subtle, and children often seem well in themselves which can make it hard to diagnose. “In just under half of all cases, a child must have an eye removed as part of their treatment. We are grateful that in Esmae’s case, her symptoms were recognised so that she could receive treatment.”