What is retinoblastoma?

Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common malignant cancer of the eye in children, and it is almost exclusively found in young children.

Though most children survive this cancer, they may lose their vision in the affected eye(s) or need to have the eye removed. The man in the picture is Peter Michael Falk, a well-known American actor, who suffered from this form of cancer at an early age. When he was 3 years old, his right eye was removed. He wore an artificial eye for the rest of his life.

More Info: wikipedia.com

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38 Comments

Dave Freese

My younger son had bilateral retinoblastoma. Left eye had to be eneucleated but the amazing people at Groote Schuur in Cape Town saved his right eye with short length radiation from an implanted gold plaque with strategically positioned and calibrated iodine seeds which shrank the tumours such that his sight was restored- at 8 months old. An absolutely horrific 72 hours and the very worst time of my life. He is now an accomplished and highly rated control systems electronics engineer in South Africa which has many industries needing such high skills. I am forever in the debt of those amazing scientists at Groote Schuur who were way ahead of the rest of the world, as was Christiaan Barnard.

Tracy Smith

Love Columbo!

mmariano

I remember Peter Falk in the TV role of detective Colombo. He was exceptionally good, not to mention quite popular, in the role. If I am not mistaken, he also appeared in some movies.