THE EYES AND THE RETINAL CANCER (cancer of the eyes)

INTRODUCTION

As the saying goes ''The eyes is the light to the body'',have you ever wondered about that or have you heard of the saying before?
The eyes is one of the sense organs,which is the organ for sight. Without the eyes,definitely you won't be able to see,that's the truth,so therefore when dealing with the eyes,we have to be careful and cautious. They have been alot of defects recorded about the eyes which can make an individual lose its sight forever. An example of the defects is the RETINAL CANCER, some folks might be perplexed,how come a cancer affects the eyes. YES it can,some cancers that affects the eyes are the breast and lung cancers which evolve to the part of an eyeball called UVEA.
So,i will be dicussing about the eyes,cancers of the eyes,its functions,treatments,and the story of a teenager who died due to the cancer of the eyes(retinoblastoma).

THE EYEBALLS

The eyeballs is the main part of the eyes,also known as the globe,which has the vitreous humour that is transparent and a jelly like liquid,which occupies the space in between the lens and the retina.

The layers of the eyeballs

Their are 3 layers of the eyeballs known,they are

1. SCLERA
2. UVEA
3. RETINA

THE SCLERA: This the whitish portion of the eyeball which are tough and covering almost the outside of the eyeball

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THE UVEA: The uvea is where the melanomas(the pigmented cells cause eyes cancer) of the eyes develop and it is the middle layers of the eyes which also has its own three(3) parts namely,

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(a). The iris
(b). The choroid and
(c). The ciliary body

The iris:

The iris helps to control the amount of light entering the eyeball and it is the coloured part of the eye. It can be blue or brown having a radially or circular muscles fibre.

The choroid:

This is also known as the middle layer which is highly filled with blood capilaries (a blood vessel) and are vascularized.

The ciliary body:

This encloses all the muscles present in the eyeball that also function to change the shape of the lens enabling it to focus on near and far objects.

THE RETINA: Their are a lot of stuff to talk about in the retina,but will i say what it entails. The retina is the innermost layer of the eyeball which is sensitive to light and has two sensory cells namely,

(a) Cones
(b) Rods
Cones and rods plays a role in the retinal as a sensory cell,

CONES: This is the sensory cell presents in the retina which are highly sensitive to colour visions and lights with high intensities. The cones does not respond to lights that are dim.

RODS: The rods function is to distinguish between only the black and white colour and are sensitive to any light intensities.

THE VITAL ROLE OF THE RETINA

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1. The images are formed on the retina
2. It helps to detect the colour of an object
3. The light rays are been focused on the retina

FUNCTION OF THE EYES

Their are two major functions of the eyes
(a) Image formation
(b) Accomodations

IMAGE FORMATION:

Images are formed on the retina as said earlier,but for an image to form on the retina,the light rays from the objects must pass through the conjunctiva,aqueous humour,lens and vitreous humour to the retina. All the named parts are transparent and contribute to the bending of the light ray coming into the eyes. Therefore,the images of the objects that is formed on the retina is inverted and smaller in size than the objects.

ACCOMODATION:

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This is the ability of the human eye to see objects that is both near and distant to the viewer on the retina,where the image is formed.Therefore,it helps to see clearly or adjustment of the eye.

THE RETINAL CANCER

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What is retinal cancer?
Retinal cancer is a disorder that affects the retina,usually occurs in the choroid which is a blood vessel. The choroid helps the retina for supports and its blood vessels. If their is a damage in the choroid by a cancer,this has a 100% chances to affect the vision of an individual,which will cause blindness.

CHOROIDAL MELANOMA

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This is a cancer of the eyes that comes from the pigment cells called Melanocytes of the choroid,it originates in the eyes and its common among the whites.
Choroidal melanoma is a fatal cancer of the eyes,and if its not discorvered in its early stage,or if it becomes large, it will spread into the bloodstream and can be fatal.

symptoms

1. it cause retinal detachment
2. Astigmatism or blurred vision
3. loss of vision

Diagnosis

1. Visit the doctor,for examination of the eyes
2. Tests run.

TREATMENTS

They are some treatment for choroidal melanoma if it is detected in its early stage,the treatment would have easy for cure using radiation,lasers or if an implant is required and saves the eyes for vision but if its not detected in its early stage and the choroidal melanoma becomes large just like malignant melanoma
the remedy to this is removal of the eyes.

Lest i forget,lets talk about the story of Ben underwood

You might be wondering,who is ben underwood?
Ben underwood, a teenager who died of retinoblastoma(cancer of the eyes affecting children). Ben underwood died at the age of 16 after a long battle with the cancer,it was a painful exit for his family because he was loved by all and a gifted child who was just blind.
Their are some fascinating things about Ben underwood,as i said earlier he was gifted. He has the ability to ''see'',how can a blind boy see?
He is able to see with sounds,wow!! that cool. He was also a celebrity who motivate others who want to gain their sight back. Actually, Ben underwood was blind but he was able to see more than people with sights.
The retinoblastoma took Ben underwood eyes when he was a baby,but he surmounted all his ordeals by learning a skill called ECHOLATION which is used by some animals like bats and dolphins.
He learnt this skill by making some noise with his tongue and also listening attentively to the soundwaves that are created by the noise. That was how he was able to do all things while blind,he even rides bicycles and plays basketball.
##REST IN PERFECT PEACE BEN UNDERWOOD.

CARE OF THE EYES

1.Always use clean water to wash your face.
2.stay away from area with smokes or fumes

1. don't rub the eyes with dirty fingers
   4.if you notice any eyes infections,consult your doctor
2. Always use antibiotics eye drops e.g chloramphenicol if the eyes is reddish or inflammed.

conclusion: the eyes is a very important part of the body,let be cautious of our eyes daily and if any infection or inflamation is noticed,please don't hesitate to visit the doctors. A lot of individuals are in the hospital now for an implant or so. The eyes comes firsts.i don't know about you. obedience is better than sacrifice.Thank you for your time.

REFERENCES

choroidal melanoma
retinoblastoma
About Ben underwood

THANKS FOR VISITING AND READING

NOTE: All images are taken from google images and are labelled for reuse