Symptoms of Eye Cancer


Recognising the symptoms of eye cancer can sometimes be difficult because many of the symptoms are the same for the cancer and for other eye problems. Because of the potential seriousness of these symptoms, however, it is recommended that individuals contact their doctor or ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

One important thing to remember about these symptoms is that pain is one of the rarer symptoms of eye cancer and only occurs usually if the tumour has spread beyond the eye. That means people who brush off these symptoms because they experience no eye pain could be at serious risk.

Below are general symptoms for intraocular eye cancer:

  • The affected eye may begin to bulge slightly, sometimes noticeably so.
  • The eyes may water frequently
  • Vision may be blurred
  • Eye sight may begin to suffer – many patients report either a partial or complete loss of sight in the affected eye.

While these symptoms are common in melanoma, this type of eye cancer may also create additional symptoms:

  • A noticeable and expanding dark spot on the iris
  • A loss of peripheral vision in that eye
  • A feeling of seeing flashing lights
  • Seeing floaters in your field of vision. Floaters are squiggly, dark lines.
  • Your eye may also move from its proper place in the eye socket

Because extraocular eye cancer does not occur in the eye itself, symptoms are usually different. With cancer of the optical nerves or eye muscles, vision problems may be the first sign of a problem. When skin cancer growths near the eye, the main symptom is the growth itself.

Although eye cancer is not as common as other forms of cancer, hundreds of people are affected every year. Without recognising the various types and symptoms of this form of cancer, patients may fail to receive an early diagnosis and may delay or complicate treatment. Thankfully, many of the types of eye cancer can be treated, occasionally with surgery. Many can enter remission and cause no permanent vision damage.

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