Olivia Hannaford initially put her months old son's oddly behaving eye down to him still developing, but she rushed him to hospital after spotting an unusual 'glow'11:43, 24 Aug 2026A mum who noticed that one of her four-and-a-half-old son's eyes was behaving unusually discovered the tot was suffering from a rare type of cancer she had never heard of.‌Olivia Hannaford, 30, noticed that her son Oliver's right eye wasn't focusing, but thought it was "just off" and may mean he would need glasses. But she became further concerned when she spotted a white glow in his eye during routine breastfeeding.‌The former beautician from Liverpool was advised to take the young boy to hospital, where, following a battery of tests, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer.‌Olivia first contacted the health visitor after seeing what she described as a "glow" in her son's eye on July 10, 2025, while breast feeding. Initially, she believed it was due to his young age and his eyes still "adjusting", and at the worst he may need " glasses to correct the slight turn in his eye".But she decided to rush her son to hospital after breastfeeding him one day, having sent pictures of an irregularity in one of his eyes to her mum and partner. She said: "He was lying propped up facing upwards towards me in bed. He looked to his right towards the window when I saw the glow in his eye.‌"I honestly thought I was going crazy. I tried taking as many pictures and videos as I could, screenshotting them. It was so hard trying to capture it in photos of a baby who had just turned five months old."‌Olivia said she then sent the pictures to her partner, Thomas Furnival, 29, and her mum, both of whom agreed to ring the hospital. She called Alder Hey Hospital, where a specialist asked her to send the photos over to the team.She immediately got a call back and was asked to bring Oliver in that same day. Olivia said: "My heart was beating out of my chest. We went in for a sight test. Oliver was doing so well.‌"The ophthalmologist asked me to place my hand over Oliver’s right eye, and he was still following all of the lights, flashing cards and black and white lines perfectly. She then asked me to place my hand over his left eye. Suddenly, he was so distressed, shaking his head, trying to move my hand. I looked at Tom and said, ‘I really think there is something wrong'."Doctors told Olivia and Tom that they suspected that Oliver had a retinoblastoma, and that it was treatable with chemotherapy. Oliver was then transferred to Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital where they confirmed the diagnosis."The doctor came in and asked us to explain what we had been noticing with Oliver’s eye," Olivia said. "After we had finished explaining, the doctor said, ‘I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your son has suspected retinoblastoma.’"‌Olivia said she and Tom had never heard of retinoblastoma, or that "you could get tumours in the eye". She added: "Tom and I probably just stared, confused."‌"She followed with, ‘he has a cancerous tumour in his eye.’ The word cancer- how do you even wrap your head around it, especially for a baby? We were both crying hysterically. Straight away I honestly thought our son was going to die.”A week after his diagnosis was confirmed by doctors in Birmingham, Oliver started four rounds of intra-arterial chemotherapy alongside ongoing laser treatment. More than a year on, Oliver, now one, has completed his final round of chemotherapy.‌He will undergo one final laser treatment before having an examination under anaesthetic (EUA) to see how the tumour has responded. Despite everything he has been through, a year on, Olivia said Oliver is "thriving". She added: “We can honestly say a year on from his diagnosis, life is as perfect as we’d planned from the second we found out we were pregnant."Oliver really is the funniest baby, he’s obsessed with flowers at the minute and smelling them, with the funniest little scrunch face when doing so. He loves shouting for his dad from the second he opens his eyes until he goes to sleep. Oliver really is just a happy little 18-month-old, living his life exactly how he should be. Nothing holds him back.”‌The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) is urging parents and healthcare professionals to be aware of the most common possible symptoms of eye cancer – a white glow in the eye, which may appear in a flash photo or in certain lighting, and a squint. Richard added: “Oliver’s story shows the importance of retinoblastoma awareness among health professionals. We are grateful that Oliver’s diagnosis was confirmed and that he was able to receive treatment.Article continues below"If you’re worried that your child may have retinoblastoma, please take them to a GP or optician as soon as possible. You can also contact the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust support team at support@chect.org.uk – they can provide information to take to your appointment."The Child Cancer Smart campaign advises health professionals to refer to the local on-call paediatrician if a child has had three persistent symptoms, has visited their health professional three times or had unexplained symptoms for three weeks.”