A mum noticed something was wrong with her son when he was playing near the television.
Just weeks before Christmas, Kirstin Smith, 29, noticed something in her three-year-old's eye as he was playing with his toys. Cian had a "cloudy spot" and after speaking with a neighbour, she was advised to get it checked out as soon as possible.
Kirstin then took Cian to an eye clinic where doctors discovered a mass on his eye. He was then referred to the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital and medics there suspected it was a retinoblastoma – a rare type of eye cancer that can affect young children.
READ MORE: Heather Small returns to Liverpool as she accepts offer from 'city institution'
READ MORE: Coronation Street's Alan Halsall flooded with support as he makes career announcement
The diagnosis was confirmed in December 2022 when Cian was transferred to Birmingham Women and Children's Hospital, West Midlands – as Birmingham is the closest hospital that can treat Cian's cancer.
Kirstin, an additional support needs teacher, from Shetland, Scotland, said: "Cian was sat in the corner of the room playing with his toys, he glanced at the TV and I noticed the white glow in his eye. It was only for a split second of clouded grey and I did a double take and it had gone.
"His tumour was stage D – it was a large tumour – and if we didn't spot it when we did we might not have the same outcome. He is very resilient.
"He will be impaired due to the damage the tumour did to his eye but we are not at the end of our journey yet so things could change. We are not sure what the future looks like just yet."
Cian started his first round of chemotherapy on December 22, 2022, and would go on to have three more. Kirstin added: "Due to my initial thought being that it was something sinister, I was prepared for the news.
"It was my initial fear and when I took him to the opticians, I said I thought it was cancer. There was a part of me that hoped it would be something less serious, we were devastated by the diagnosis but it wasn't a shock.
After a few months of chemotherapy, the tumour shrunk and Cian started cryotherapy, the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy, to shrink it further. Kirstin said: "The chemo was really affecting him, it did manage to shrink the tumour but it was a real hard slog.
"The good thing about this type of chemo is that it is targeted. He wasn't unwell – it was just a difficult day and the next day it would be like it never happened. Life was relatively normal between chemo sessions."
Cian is still undergoing treatment to keep his cancer at bay but Kirstin says everything is going in the right direction. The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) urges parents and healthcare professionals to be aware of the most common possible symptoms of eye cancer – a white glow in the eye in flash photo or in certain light, and a squint.
A change in the appearance of the eye or a swollen eye may also be an indication – although often only one sign or symptom is present.
Richard Ashton, chief executive of CHECT, said: "Retinoblastoma is rare, with around one baby or young child being diagnosed in the UK each week. Symptoms can be quite subtle, and children often seem well in themselves which can make it hard to diagnose.
"In just under half of all cases, a child must have an eye removed as part of their treatment."
Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here
Win your Christmas Shop with Iceland & the Food Warehouse