Eye Cancer
Eye cancer, though usually not fatal, is one of the more unknown types of cancer, even though this disease is contracted by thousands of people each year. There are many different types of eye cancer, and usually start in one part of the eye, then spread. There are three major parts of the eye: the globe (eyeball), the orbit, and the adnexal structures – these are the only sections of the eye that can contract Eye Cancer.
Eye Cancers that affect the eyeball are called intraocular (meaning: in the eye) cancers. Eye Cancers that effect the tissues surrounding the eyeball are called orbital cancers. Lastly, Eye Cancers that affect the adnexal structures, ( such as the eyelids or tear glands) are call adnexal cancers. All are very potent in their own right.
To start off, one of the eye cancers that stars in the eyeball, called Primary intraocular eye cancer is one of the more common cancers, while Intraocular melanoma is a rarer type of eye cancer that also develops within the eyeball.
Fact: Approximately 90% of the intraocular melanomas occur in the choroid. The choroid is a part of the uvea which contains the same kind of pigment as the melanocytes in the skin. The other 10% of the intraocular melanomas occur in the iris. These melanomas are the type of eye cancer that grow very slowly, and can be easily treated when caught early.
The Secondary intraocular eye cancer starts in another part of
the body and spread to the part of the eye called the uvea. This
is why it’s fundamental you have regular physicals to check
for cancer, so it can be caught and treated.
Lastly, Medulloepithelioma is a rare eye cancer that occurs only
in young children. These kinds of tumors rarely spread, and are
easily spotting in young children. This kind of eye cancer causes
extreme eye pain and can radically decrease eye vision. To determine
rather your child has this kind of Eye Cancer, a biopsy is preformed
to confirm diagnosis. The only option for treatment
is surgery. They will try to remove the Eye Cancer tumor but if
that is impossible, they will remove the whole eye.