Shock diagnosis after Perth mum finds unusual bruise on toddler’s eyelid

An Aussie mum has revealed her heartbreak after witnessing her son’s symptoms turn into a rare and aggressive cancer.

Luca Kitson was described as a healthy and happy child by his mother, Di Kitson.

The four-year-old was a “miracle” baby, conceived naturally alongside his fraternal twin, Noah, who was conceived via fertility treatment.

But before he turned two, while living in the mining town of Kalgoorlie in WA, Ms Kitson noticed strange bruising on Luca’s right eyelid.

He had recently bumped his head while playing in the family’s backyard, but she thought the bruising was unusual.

Then, other symptoms started to show, including a mild fever, drooling, loss of appetite, and vomiting.

After his father Jeff took him to the GP, the family later visited the emergency department, where scans revealed tumours in Luca’s skull and kidney.

A Perth mum recalled the moment she noticed strange bruising on her son Luca’s eyelid, which turned out to be the signs of a rare and aggressive cancer. Picture: 7News

“My heart sank,” the mother-of-three told 7News. “I just remembered at that point an out-of-body experience.”

Later that night, Ms Kitson prepared bags for herself and Luca to fly to Perth Children’s Hospital with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Before he reached his second birthday, Luca was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive cancer affecting the body’s nerve cells.

“I remember thinking to myself, I spent years trying to be healthy … didn’t touch plastic, didn’t drink alcohol,” Ms Kitson reflected.

“From the moment they were eating solids, everything’s organic, homemade, grown in our veggie patch … yet this happened.

“I remember the oncologist saying, ‘cancer does not discriminate’.”

The little boy was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma before his second birthday. Picture: 7News

In the following 15 months, Luca underwent extensive treatment involving surgeries, chemotherapy, stem cell rescues, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy.

The family relocated from Kalgoorlie to Perth and now lives in Bibra Lake.

“It was extremely difficult,” the mum admitted.

“Ultimately, I don’t think I could have gone through this without the nurses on the ward. They just understood, they made us feel safe.

“Luca was two years old, and he had been through more pain and more side effects than any adult would experience in a lifetime. Some of them were very, very traumatic procedures and very invasive procedures.”

Luca has now finished his treatment and is an ambassador for the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation’s annual Christmas appeal. Picture: 7News

Now, a year after finishing his treatment, Luca is set to be one of five ambassador children for the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation, ringing the bells at Perth’s Bell Tower.

This event will kick off the Foundation’s annual Christmas appeal, which is aimed at raising funds for programs, technology, and research supporting children who are fighting cancer.

The appeal focuses on an “end-of-treatment” bell in the oncology ward, rung when a child completes their treatment.

Luca has been left legally blind and with hearing loss but has come a long way since that first photo. Picture: Perth Children’s Hospital

Ms Kitson feels anxious as they anticipate Luca being fully cleared five years after treatment, especially since the side effects have left him legally blind and with hearing loss.

Yet, she believes that ringing the bell has instilled a sense of hope on their journey.

“All the nurses that had been by his side were there to watch him,” she said.

“All I ever want is for him to be here with us, healthy and happy and so at the end of the day, when he rang that bell, I knew that he gave so much hope to so many families.”