Little Alok and his big fight

Alok poses for a photo outside, standing in a wooded area in front of a tree. He wears a warm jacket and a pair of black eyeglasses.
Written by L V Prasad Eye Institute Communications Team, published on February 7, 2023 Donate Today

Alok was just four when he was first brought by his parents to the L V Prasad Eye Institute at Bhubaneswar in June 2019. They had noticed a white spot on the black portion of his left eye, sought consultation with a local ophthalmologist, and had been referred to the institute on the suspicion of eye cancer (retinoblastoma) in his left eye.  

Examination at the institute revealed further shocking news for them – their child had eye cancer in both eyes. However, there was some consolation in that it was at a stage that was treatable by chemotherapy. He was treated under the supervision of the ocular oncologist, Dr. Devjyoti Tripathy, and responded well to chemotherapy.  

Unfortunately, he had a tumor recurrence in his left eye a few months after his chemotherapy was completed. The tumor recurrence progressed despite further treatment, and Alok’s parents were faced with their toughest challenge yet – surgical removal of the tumor-affected eye to save their son’s life. They agreed, Alok underwent surgery, and he recovered well.  

For the past three years, he has been under regular follow-up and has grown up into a bubbly, cheerful, mischievous three-year-old. His mother states happily that she is thankful that Alok has survived cancer, and though he has lost one eye, the other eye has normal vision. She thanks Dr. Tripathy and LVPEI for the support and guidance provided all throughout Alok’s big fight with eye cancer.

Operation Eyesight has been working closely with LVPEI for more than 20 years. In addition to making quality eye care accessible for underserved communities in India, with the help of a generous donor family, we opened the Operation Eyesight Universal Institute for Eye Cancer at LVPEI’s Hyderabad campus in 2015. To combat the growing number of eye cancer incidences in India, the facility provides cancer treatment for children and adults, all at low or no cost.