A BROMSGROVE mum is warning parents to watch out for the subtle signs of a devastating childhood cancer, after her two-year-old son was forced to have his eye removed to save his life.

Ethan Warman was 23 months old when his mum Michelle Turner spotted a cloudy reflection in his eye and took him to the Minor Injuries Unit at Bromsgrove's Princess of Wales Hospital in September.

Within days, and just months after undergoing surgery to repair his cleft lip, Ethan was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a rare and potentially fatal form of eye cancer.

Mum-of-three Michelle, 34, said: "It was such a shock. Everything happened so quickly that we barely had time to take anything in. One minute all we’d seen was a small white glow in Ethan’s eye and the next we were being told that he had to have his eye removed."

Michelle and her partner Dean Warman soon learned that Ethan had a grade E tumour - the most severe - and had been going blind in that eye for months. The faint glow in his eye, they later realised, could be seen in photos of Ethan from five months of age.

Just 48 hours after the shock diagnosis, Ethan was taken in to surgery at Birmingham Children's Hospital - one of only two specialist centres for Retinoblastoma in the UK - to have his eye removed, shortly followed by four relentless rounds of chemotherapy and several blood and platelet transfusions.

Michelle said: "We couldn’t believe how well he coped with everything. He has taken it all in his stride and has been happy and smiling all the way through. Ethan’s attitude is what has got me through it all – if he can manage to see the good in things then we should too."

The parents have also been told this month that Ethan could pass the faulty gene on to his children.

He now faces a lifetime of prosthetic eye fittings, but his family are eager to use his inspiring story to raise awareness of Retinoblastoma, and prevent other children from going through the same ordeal.

They are now working alongside the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust to make parents aware of the disease's main symptoms - a white glow in the child's eye - seen in dim lighting or photos taken using flash - and a squint.

Chief executive of the trust Patrick Tonks said: "It’s important that parents don’t panic but if you see anything unusual in your child’s eyes, please get them checked out urgently just to rule out anything serious."

Dad Dean, 38, and Ethan's eight-year-old brother Mark are set to tackle the Chepstow 5K Bounce Run to raise money for the trust in June, and the family are urging as many people as possible to donate blood and platelets, crucial for treating tumours.

To sponsor Dean and Mark visit justgiving.com/fundraising/deanwarman or find out more about Retinoblastoma at chect.org.uk.