Treatments vary, depending on the cancer's size and location, said Lemons. Those are determined by a variety of tests, including an ultrasound of the eye or an MRI. A child may be anesthetized while doctors look at the eye in the operating room.

Crandall said the most common treatment is to remove the eye.

"The good news is these kids, when it's caught at a young age, have a nice, normal life with no issues. Most, if caught early, do well. They adapt beautifully, growing up with one eye. They play basketball. They can't fly F-16s, but who cares?"

"It doesn't affect their intelligence, their reading, their learning. It's a terrible thing to have happen, but if you catch it early, they are OK."

While it can impair vision, real danger comes if the tumor spreads along the optic nerve and into the brain, where it can kill.

Radiation treatment is no longer commonly used for the condition because it can increase the risk for secondary cancers and impair vision. Treatments, based on the cancer stage, include use of cryotherapy, where a cold probe is used to freeze and kill the tumor or use of heat or laser to destroy it. Cryotherapy is more common.

Current clinical trials include injecting chemotherapy substances directly into the eye. Oncologists may also use a systemic chemotherapy to shrink and kill the tumor, to preserve the eye, if the tumor's small, Lemons said.

In cases of inherited retinoblastoma, the experts said there's an increased risk that the child is predisposed to other cancers, including sarcomas and melanomas. To learn about this and other childhood cancers, Lemons recommends a Web site sponsored by the Cancer Treatment Group, which includes children's hospitals here and abroad: www.curesearch.org. Another good resource is retinoblastoma.net.

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E-mail: lois@desnews.com