RAWALPINDI: Around 140 children treated for eye cancer at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital over the past three years have successfully recovered, offering hope to hundreds of low-income families struggling to access specialised cancer care.

Doctors at the hospital’s Cancer Unit said the achievement was significant in Pakistan, where childhood eye cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages due to poor awareness, delayed referrals and financial constraints.

According to hospital officials, the unit has registered 620 cancer patients and conducted 3,952 chemotherapy sessions since becoming operational. Many of the patients belonged to rural and underprivileged families facing difficulties in reaching timely medical care.

Pediatric oncologist Dr Tanzeela Farah said delayed diagnosis remained one of the biggest challenges in treating retinoblastoma, the most common eye cancer in children.

“Many parents do not recognise the early warning signs, such as a white glow appearing in a child’s eye in photographs or poor eye contact,” she said. “If detected early, many children can survive and even retain their vision.”

She advised parents to use a mobile phone torch to check infants and newborns for unusual white reflections in the pupil, medically known as leukocoria, which can indicate eye cancer.

Doctors at the hospital also highlighted the health risks associated with cousin marriages, saying inherited eye diseases and some childhood cancers are more common in communities where consanguineous marriages are widespread.

Medical experts noted that many children with retinoblastoma arrive at hospitals in advanced stages because of delayed diagnosis, lack of awareness and financial hardship. While survival rates for retinoblastoma exceed 99 per cent in high-income countries with early screening and specialised treatment, the rate can fall to nearly 50 per cent in poorer countries where patients seek care late.

To ease the financial burden on families, Al-Shifa Trust partnered with institutions including the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for diagnostic services and radiotherapy support. Several deserving patients also received free radiotherapy treatment.

Doctors said timely intervention not only improves survival chances but can also save children’s eyesight.

“Eye cancer in children is treatable,” Dr Tanzeela said. “The real danger is delayed diagnosis.”

Al-Shifa Trust currently operates seven hospitals in Rawalpindi, Sukkur, Kohat, Muzaffarabad, Chakwal, Gilgit and Haveli Lakha. The trust is also constructing what it says will be Asia’s largest eye hospital in Lahore.