Many eye cancers have a similar set of symptoms. However, some symptoms might be specific for specific types of eye cancer.
What Are the Signs of Eye Cancer
Traditional symptoms of eye cancers include (1, 2, 3, 4):
- Blurring of vision. Preliminary blurring of vision may frequently be disregarded or blamed on refractory errors necessitating glasses. This seemingly innocuous symptom needs to be subsequented specifically among those with risk factors for eye cancer by an ophthalmologist to discover eye cancers early.
- Flashes or spots in visual fields. Patients may see lines, drifting points, wiggly lines, or spots in front of their eyes. This symptom prevails with a myriad of eye conditions like cataract and so on. They require cautious assessment to omit eye cancers specifically amongst those at risk. So, can eye floaters be a sign of cancer? Yes.
- Complete or partial loss of eye sight. Sometimes there may be “blinkering”– the vision around the periphery is lost. The vision is frequently similar to a horse with blinkers. These might be some patients who see like through a tunnel. This is called one-track mind. Progressively total vision is lost.
- Pain in or around the eye. This occurs primarily due to the pressure exerted by the tumor on the eye. Pain is unusual in many eye cancers. It occurs when the cancer affects adnexal structures, nerves or infect other parts.
- Bulging of the eye. This might be seen in children with retinoblastoma.
- Modification in appearance of the affected eye.
- A spot over the eye or a mole over the iris may appear to have grown in size or altered in appearance.
Symptoms of Intraocular Melanoma
Intraocular melanoma may frequently present without any symptoms.
These patients might be identified on regular eye examination by an eye doctor.
The first sign of a cancer malignancy might frequently be a total loss of vision that is definitely pain-free.
Those with dysplastic nevus syndrome or mole or moles around the eyes need regular yearly eye checkups to omit melanoma formation and identify the disease early.