Childhood Eye Cancer Trust shows you can detect eye cancer in your child using a smartphone
Flash photography is one of the easiest ways to detect the early signs of retinoblastoma—an aggressive eye cancer affecting babies and young children.
When a tumour is growing inside a child’s eye, it often reflects back as a white pupil in photos, which can be the warning sign parents and guardians need to ensure a life-saving early diagnosis.
And the tool parents need to see the warning sign is something they carry around with them all day, every day—their smartphone.
So the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) went about producing a poster series that conveyed this simple fact by taking parents through the experience of seeing eye cancer in their photos.
The series is comprised of four posters, each featuring the eye of a real retinoblastoma survivor, aged between 2 and 5 years old. The message invites you to take a flash photo of the poster to see what eye cancer looks like. Upon doing so, you discover that the photo you took looks very different from the seemingly healthy eye in the poster.
How is it possible? An innovative reflective ink turns the pupil white whenever a flash hits the paper. This means parents, carers and doctors now have a point of reference they can take away with them, along with the knowledge that the power to save a child’s sight is in their hands.
The posters are appearing in GP offices, baby clinics and childcare centres to help raise awareness of eye cancer among parents and carers—in the hope that broader awareness will lead to early detection in more British babies and toddlers. The posters were created by Wunderman, an ad agency working with Childhood Eye Cancer Trust.
The charity, originally called the Retinoblastoma Society, was formed in 1987. The organisation’s work toward battling eye cancer in children includes providing comprehensive support to families, funding groundbreaking genetic research and educating the public.
Joy Felgate, CHECT’s chief executive, said: “This is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the signs of retinoblastoma in an exciting and engaging way that will leave a lasting impression on those that see it. The information people take away could save a child’s life. We are very grateful to the team at Wunderman for their inspirational work on this campaign.”
Matt Batten, Chief Creative Officer, Wunderman UK, said: “When a parent, doctor or carer of kids sees the poster, it’s very impactful to think that you just looked into the eye of a real child who survived this terrible cancer. And you now have first-hand experience of what to look for in your own loved ones, or those in your care.”
Childhood Eye Cancer Trust’s website has more information about the signs and symptoms of retinoblastoma, how you can support CHECT’s work, and the faces behind the campaign.
For more information on Retinoblastoma visit www.chect.org.uk
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