Woman had ‘freckles’ on her eye that turned into melanoma of the eye

At an eye exam last year, Marilyn Hillman’s ophthalmologist noticed freckles on her eyes, and the doctor recommended Hillman for follow-up with an eye oncologist. I found out that there is This is a type of cancer that often develops in the eyes due to sun exposure. Hillman always protected her face from the sun, which surprised her a little.

“I’ve worn a hat and sunglasses most of my life. Without that test, I wouldn’t have known I had melanoma.”

Routine eye exams reveal rare diagnoses

In 2022, Hillman attended a routine eye exam with a new doctor. When her doctor looked into her eyes, she noticed something.

“She called them freckles,” recalls Hillman. “She said, ‘I don’t know if they’re something or nothing. That’s why I need to go to an eye oncologist,'” she said.

For years, Hillman had an annual visit to the eye doctor for an exam. “My distance vision was pretty good,” she says, even though she wore glasses for reading and distance. After her cataract surgery, she has her 20/20 vision and no longer wears her glasses.

She gets regular eye health checks, but last year was the first time anyone said she had freckles.

“The only reason it was found was because my eye doctor retired and I went to a new one,” she says. “She did tests he never did.”

After her doctor recommended seeing an eye oncologist, Hillman scheduled an appointment with Dr. Paul Finger of the New York Department of Ophthalmology.

eye melanoma

eye melanoma It’s a rare type of cancer that affects about 2,500 people in the United States and 10,000 worldwide each year, according to Finger. Eye freckles and moles, which doctors call nevi, are more common than ocular melanoma. Birthmarks are common on light-colored eyes.

“You can see them better when people have blue eyes because of the contrast,” Finger tells TODAY.com. A blemish can turn into a melanoma.”

Just like cutaneous melanoma, the sun and UV rays can turn nevi into cancer, Finger says.

Inside the eye is a layer of blood vessels called the uvea that begins at the iris and enters the choroid, the blood vessels that feed the retina. This is where cancer can form.

“That layer has melanocytes, pigment cells, and those melanocytes can turn into melanoma inside the eye, much like people attach to their skin,” says Finger.

Some people find out they have melanoma during a routine eye exam, while others notice it. change in their visionYou can see them when you look into your own eyes in the mirror.

“If people notice any changes…generally they should get an eye exam,” Finger says.

Doctors often treat ocular melanoma with “plaque therapy.” This is a treatment that places a radioactive disc in the eye to treat cancer, says Finger. The disc stays in the eye for about a week to allow the radiation to neutralize the cancer.

“The radiation enters the eye and hits the tumor, killing it, sterilizing the tumor and preventing cells from dividing and spreading to other parts of the body,” Finger explains. , is removed from the eye after 5 to 7 days.”

Finger hoped to deliver the same amount of therapeutic radiation in another way, and developed a technique to help.

“We have developed an applicator that can be put on the eye for an average of seven minutes and then removed, so the amount of radiation delivered over the course of a week is actually delivered in seven minutes.” he explains.

The device he developed with Liberty Vision is iwandThe patient is in a sedated state of twilight sleep while undergoing the procedure.

“All we need to do is push the normal tissue away from where the source was placed on the eye and draw a line of applicator,” says Finger. “After seven minutes, the tissue will return to its original position and the patient will be sent home.”

The tumor remains in the eye, but is not active.

“Radiation cuts DNA, so when cancer cells try to divide and make new cancer cells, they die because they can’t pass through mitosis,” says Finger.

People who have had cutaneous melanoma are more likely to develop another cutaneous melanoma, but ocular melanoma does not have the same risk. say you can sunglasses and hat.

“[Your eyes]are precious and you want to protect them for the rest of your life,” he says. “Sunglasses and a hat are really important because you can’t put sunscreen on your eyes.”

Life after ocular melanoma

Hillman has returned to work as a museum lecturer and has had no lingering side effects from melanoma in her eye.

“Every time I went for a follow-up, they would redo all the tests to see if the melanoma had gotten bigger or had shrunk,” she says.

It’s stable and Finger agrees that Hillman is doing well.

“She’s doing very well,” he says. “Even in the first few weeks, I didn’t see any corneal swelling or inflammation inside the eye.”

Hillman hopes that others will have regular eye exams so that any changes in their eyes will be detected early.

“My tumor was very small and was caught early, thankfully,” she says.