A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy diagnosed with cancer was given back a normal life when he received a ‘magic eye’.

Edward Cassidy, of Washington Street, Accrington, had always been healthy until a tumour was discovered in his right eye in December 2007.

His parents Gary and Melanie first spotted that he had one white eye – a symptom of the rare eye cancer retinoblastoma – in October that year.

Melanie Cassidy, 45, said: “We had started to see a white glint in his eye. It was just like looking at a cat’s eye.

“The first couple of times I saw it I thought it was my imagination, but my hus-band spotted it and when Edward went to nursery one day they saw it.

“Our GP had not heard of it and neither had the optician.

"He went to Accrington Victoria Hospital and they said it was a tumour.

“When it was diagnosed he was about 20 months old. It was a week before Christmas.

“We went to London on New Year’s Day and a week later he had the tumour in his eye removed.”

Six weeks later Edward had his first appointment with the National Artificial Eye Service.

He was eventually given a bespoke artificial eye, made by hand in Blackpool.

Melanie said: “He only has sight in one eye, but fortunately there have been no problems with the other eye and his sight in that eye is perfect.

“With it happening at such a young age his brain has compensated, and apart from the occasional bump into a door that’s not fully open, he is okay.”

Edward has a special implant underneath his fake eye, so when the muscle beneath twitches his artificial eye moves and it looks more realistic.

His mum added: “His false eye is so good. It fits perfectly and you can’t tell.

“He is absolutely happy and a normal boy. He has his ‘magic eye’, which he cleans at night when he brushes his teeth and it’s just part of his bathroom routine.

“Sometimes he says to me ‘Mummy, doesn’t everybody have a magic eye?’”

Last month Edward was invited to Blackpool to see how his eye was made.

And Melanie now helps the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, a charity for those affected by retinoblastoma, by talking to others about her family’s experience.