Parents forced to make agonising decision between having their son's eyes removed or risk him dying from cancer

On the face of it, it appears an impossible decision - to have your son's eyes removed consigning him to a life without sight, or risk him dying of cancer? But for James and Fiona Morley-Smith, though heartbreaking, their decision was a simple one - they could not risk losing their son.

When Fintan was three months old he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, when doctors discovered three large tumours growing 'like mushrooms' in his eyes. For the first six years of his life, Fintan underwent countless treatments to try and stem the disease. But still the cancer grew.

When their son reached the age of four, doctors first raised the issue of removing one of Fintan's eyes.

His parents said that first decision was an easy one, and made with the hope Fintan's second eye would be OK.

But in August 2013, doctors sat Mr and Mrs Morley-Smith down to have the conversation they had dreaded - removing Fintan's second eye was the safest course to take, if specialists were to save him.

Despite his ordeal, the bright seven-year-old has refused to let his blindness consume him - he plays football, enjoys martial arts, playing the piano and singing.

But his parents' hearts break each birthday and Christmas, when Fintan reveals top of his list of wishes is to have his eyesight back.

Fintan, now seven, was just three months old when his parents noticed that he was squinting a lot and his eyes were moving from side to side frequently.

After visiting doctors, the family were hit with the devastating news it was bilateral retinoblastoma - a deadly cancer that affects 40 to 50 babies born in the UK each year.

Fintan was immediately referred to The Chiltern hospital in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, where the diagnosis was confirmed. He had three large tumours in each eye - around 11mms in size - but they were growing outwards 'like mushrooms'.

The first port of call was two batches of chemotherapy, six months at a time.

However, while the tumours died, tiny fragments split off into hundreds of pieces and resettled in his eyes.

Fintan then faced countless hours of cryotherapy - where very low temperatures are used to try and freeze the growths, in a bid to destroy these tiny cancer fragments.

He had to face this ordeal once every three weeks for the first six years of his life.

Mr Morley-Smith, 38, said: 'Blindness is a horrible thing to have to decide for your own son. It was a terrible thing to have to tell him that after his operation he will never see again. But it was too dangerous for us to leave his eyes in'.

Fintan still plays football with his friends - sometimes using a ball with a bell on it - and has even gone on to earn a red belt in Judo.

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