Mutual support for families of children with eye cancer

For parents to be told that their child has been diagnosed as having retinoblastoma is totally devastating. Retinoblastoma is a cancerous condition of the eye which occurs mostly in children, usually before the age of 3 years. To be confronted with the problem of sight loss and cancer is a tremendous shock. In appreciation of this, the staff of Moorfields Eye Hospital in London were well aware of the need and desire of parents to form a self-help group for mutual support during this traumatic period in parents' lives. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of forming a self-help group for families with children affected by retinoblastoma and to describe how the Retinoblastoma Society was established.