A recently conducted research suggests that preventing most of the eye cancer types is not possible. However, this fact should not stop any one from taking care of his eyes and people at risk of eye cancer should be even more careful about maintaining their eye health. Two of the major risk factors of eye cancer are light skin and blue eyes. Other than that, individuals who need to stay outdoors for most part of the day or are residents of Australia are also at high risk of suffering from eye melanomas and lymphomas; this shows that ultraviolet rays increase one’s susceptibility towards eye cancer. Anyone having family history of eye cancers also has high chances of getting the disease. Eye cancer affects women and men at equal rates; so being of a specific gender is not considered to be  [...]

Eye melanoma is a cancer type affecting the melanin producing cells of our eyes. Medically, the condition is also often referred to as ocular melanoma. Majority of the eye melanomas affect a part of the eyes that cannot be seen when we look into the mirror. As a result of this, detecting the condition is extremely difficult. Besides that, eye melanoma usually does not show up symptoms in its early stages. Treatment of eye melanoma involves use of procedures like chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. Here, we’ll be discussing about the different types of surgery used for treating eye melanoma. Iridectomy: This surgical procedure is used for removing only the affected part of one’s iris. Patients suffering from small iris melanoma, which has not spread to any other part of the eye,  [...]

Majority of the cases of eye cancers are melanomas. In this article we’ll be discussing about the different stages of melanoma of the eye. Melanoma of the eye can be in 4 stages; they are: Stage 1 or small melanoma: In this stage of eye cancer, small melanomas having approximate thickness of 1 to 2.5 mm and maximum width of 10mm appear. Small melanomas of the eye usually do not spread into any other tissue. The 5 year survival rate of patients in stage 1 of eye cancer is 84%. Melanoma of the eye generally does not show up any significant symptom when it is in stage 1. So, the disease mostly gets diagnosed in stage 1 through eye exams. Stage 2 or medium melanoma: In this stage the tumors grow in size and reach a diameter of 10 to 16 mm; the thickness of the tumor remains below 10mm. Even in  [...]

Retinoblastoma is a cancer affecting our eyes; this eye cancer type is named so as it originates from the retina. This disease is mostly diagnosed in young children; however, in rare cases, adults can also develop the condition. Our retina is made with nerve tissues that sense light entering our eye’s frontal part. Retina performs the role of sending signals to the brain through the optic nerve; in the brain, these signals get interpreted in form of images. Retinoblastoma affects these nerve cells of retina. The condition is caused by occurrence of genetic mutations in the nerve cells of retina; the genetic mutation eventually results in uncontrolled growth and multiplication of the healthy cells. These cells are then accumulated to form tumors. The retinoblastoma cells might spread into  [...]

The following diagnostic procedures are used for detecting the occurrence of eye cancer: Eye examination: The eye specialist will examine your eyes for presence of any enlarged blood vessel, which can be an indicator of formation of tumors inside the eye. Doctors might use instruments for examining the eyes. One such method is known as ophthalmoscopy; in this process, the doctors use lenses carrying bright lights mounted on their forehead. The look of the device used for ophthalmoscopy is a lot like the miner’s lamp. The other method use by doctors for eye examination is biomicroscopy using a slit-lamp; in this method, the doctor used microscopes that produce intense beams for illuminating the inner part of the patient’s eyes. Ultrasound of the eye: In this method, sound waves of high  [...]

Choroidal melanoma could develop inside the eye and arising from the blood vessel film ‘choroid’ underneath the retina. In places like N. America, six from every million individuals would develop malignant choroidal melanoma yearly. It is a condition that could metastasize to other regions of the body. Determination of whether a person has choroidal melanoma is done by eye cancer experts through a comprehensive eye exam inclusive of enquiring about medical past, examination of both eyes, peering inside eyes at the tumor, conducting an ultrasound exam & dedicated photography for examining circulation inside the choroidal melanoma. The expert would even order the person to undergo a total wide-ranging medical check-up & particular testing based on what is noticed within the eye. Intraocular  [...]

Retinoblastoma is a condition caused due to the formation of malignant or cancer cells in the tissues present in the retina. Though retinoblastoma might surface irrespective of age, it is generally observed among infants below 5 years. The tumor might affect one or both the eyes, though it is quite atypically noted to metastasize to the adjacent tissues or other areas of the body. Retinoblastoma is generally detected in just one eye and could generally be treated. Retinoblastoma  – Due to gene mutation transferred to the off-spring Retinoblastoma is at times inheritable. When it occurs due to inherent gene mutation, it is known as hereditary retinoblastoma. It has generally been observed to affect the younger age bracket than retinoblastoma that is non-inheritable. Retinoblastoma occurring  [...]

Intraocular melanoma is the condition wherein malignant or cancerous cells start forming in the tissues present in the eye. Though a rare form of cancer, it is the most widespread eye cancer noted among adults. Intraocular melanoma originates in the middle of the three layers of the wall of the eye. The outermost layer comprises of the white sclera or the white portion of the eye and the clear cornea in front of the eye. The innermost layer consists of nerve tissue lining known as the retina that detects light and transmits the images via the optic nerve to the brain. The central layer known as the uvea or uveal tract is the place where intraocular melanoma is known to develop. The uvea comprises of three key parts namely: Iris – The coloured part lying at the front of the eye and could be  [...]