Eye cancer is caused by an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells in or around your eye. There are many different types of eye cancer. Sometimes the cancer develops in your eye, but cancers can also spread to your eye from other parts of your body.
Eye cancers are rare. The most common type is called uveal melanoma.
If you have eye cancer, your tests and treatment will depend upon what type you have. We have some general information about eye cancer here, but your doctor will be able to discuss what’s best for you in your circumstances.
Some rare types affect very young children, but it’s mostly adults who get eye cancer. You’re most likely to be diagnosed with eye cancer if you are over 75.
There are lots of different types of eye cancer, each affecting different parts of the eye.
Cancer can also affect the skin or structures around your eye, such as your eyelid or the lacrimal gland which makes tears.
Eye cancer can also develop after spreading from tumours elsewhere in the body. These tumours are called secondary cancers. In women, secondary eye cancers are most often spread from breast tumours, and in men they most often spread from lung tumours.
Symptoms of eye cancer vary, depending on the type of cancer you have and where it is located. Most of the time, cancers inside the eye cause no symptoms at all and they are usually picked up during a routine eye test.
If you notice the following symptoms, you should book an appointment with an optician for a check-up:
If your optician or doctor thinks that you may have cancer within your eyeball, they’ll refer you to an ophthalmologist for tests. This is a doctor who specialises in eye health, including eye surgery. The ophthalmologist may then refer you to a specialist centre for treatment.
You might have the following tests to confirm whether you have eye cancer.
If your doctor thinks you might have skin cancer around your eye, they may refer you to a specialist. This may be an ophthalmologist (a doctor specialising in eye conditions), a plastic surgeon or a dermatologist (a doctor specialising in skin conditions).
Your treatment will depend on the type of eye cancer you have, how big it is, whether it’s spread, and your general health. Treating eye cancer is a specialist area, so we’ve only given an overview here. Your doctor will explain your treatment options in more detail to help you make a choice.
There are two main treatments for eye cancer – radiotherapy and surgery.
Radiotherapy uses radiation to destroy cancer cells. It’s sometimes used on its own to treat eye cancer and sometimes it’s used with surgery. There are three main types:
Radiotherapy can damage healthy cells as well as cancerous cells and that can sometimes lead to side-effects. These include cataracts, an inflamed and painful cornea (keratitis) and damage to the retina which can affect your sight. Talk to your doctor or nurse about the different types of radiotherapy and what might be best for you.
Having surgery means having cancerous tissue removed. Depending on how big the tumour is and where it is, might mean having the tumour removed, or part or all of the eye. Removing the whole eye is called enucleation and it’s usually only done if the tumour is large.
If the whole eye is removed, your surgeon will take out the eyeball and put an eye-shaped implant into the socket. Your eye muscles are attached to the implant so that it moves like an eye. A few weeks afterwards you’ll have an artificial eye put over the implant which matches your eye closely. It should move and look natural.
Some types of eye cancer, such as small melanomas of the eye, can be treated with special laser therapy. There are two main types called transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) and photodynamic therapy. TTT uses an infrared laser to destroy the tumour using heat. It’s sometimes used alongside radiotherapy. Photodynamic therapy uses a light-sensitive drug and a laser or other light sources to destroy cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is a treatment to destroy cancer cells with medicines. These can be used for secondary eye cancers or for eye cancers that have spread elsewhere in the body.
The most common type of eye cancer in adults is eye melanoma. Doctors don’t yet fully understand why people develop it, but there are several things that make it more likely.
Retinoblastoma may be caused by a faulty gene. Around one in 10 children with it will have a parent or close family member with the condition.
Being diagnosed with cancer and facing treatment can be distressing for you and your family. An important part of cancer treatment is having support to deal with the emotional aspects as well as the physical symptoms. Specialist cancer doctors and nurses are experts in providing the support you need. Talk to your doctor or nurse if you would like support or you’re finding it hard to cope. There are support and information organisations for people with cancer listed in the helpful website section.
That depends on the type of surgery you have. You may have some bruising and swelling for a few days after your operation and some people decide to wait for a while before they look at the changes after surgery.
Surgeons are skilled at reconstruction and will try and hide any scars as well as they can in existing lines and creases. Over time, some scars can fade and become less noticeable. Some people use make-up to cover scars and during the first few weeks after surgery you may want to wear sunglasses. If you need to have an eye removed and replaced with an artificial one, it’s usually very hard for people to tell. Every artificial eye is made individually and matched as closely as possible to your other eye. You should also have some movement in the eye too.
It’s natural to feel concerned about the way you’ll look after eye cancer surgery and many people find it takes some time to adjust. Have a chat with your doctor about how treatment will affect your appearance and ask for support if you need it.
Having one eye may take some time to get used to – both physically and emotionally. Sight changes can affect your ability to read, drive and do certain tasks. You might find that losing an eye affects your confidence, how you feel about yourself and your relationships too. It can take time to get used to these changes, but many people do.
It’s harder to judge distance with one eye and you’ll need to turn your head to the left or right to see fully. But, once you get used to the artificial eye, you should be able to live life as you did before. You should leave your eye in when you sleep, and you should be able to do activities such as swimming and playing sport and wear make-up.
You should be able to drive a car, but it may take a few months for your vision to adjust to having one eye. You don’t need to tell the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if you have lost the sight in one eye, as long as you’re still able to meet the standards of vision for driving. Your doctor or optician can let you know when you are fully adapted to seeing with one eye and test your eyesight to make sure you are safe to drive. If you have a bus, coach or lorry licence, you must tell the DVLA if you have lost the sight in one eye.
After having an eye removed, it can sometimes feel as if the eye is still there. You may see things that aren’t there, called visual hallucinations. This can be unsettling but it’s normal. It’s your brain adjusting to your eye not being there and over time the hallucinations should stop.
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