Chelsea Vito says that when her son, Dominic, turned one, she made sure he had his first eye appointment to check his vision. Her older daughter had been diagnosed with farsightedness at the age of three, and when Dominic was born, their optometrist suggested scheduling an eye exam by the time he turned one to determine if he, too, might need glasses.
In December of 2023, Dominic had his first eye exam. Sure enough, he was also farsighted, though his visual condition was much more advanced than his sister’s. Dominic began wearing glasses and seeing a pediatric ophthalmologist regularly for monitoring and follow-up care.
Unfortunately, the ophthalmologist they initially saw retired, and it took nearly a year for the family to find another doctor to continue Dominic’s care. In April of 2025, they finally met with a new pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Ashley Ko.
At first, the appointment seemed routine, much like Dominic’s previous eye exams. However, shortly after beginning the examination, the doctor’s demeanor subtly changed. Looking back, Chelsea says the doctor handled the situation with incredible compassion and calmness. She never said anything that unnecessarily alarmed the family. Instead, she gently explained that she had noticed something concerning in both of Dominic’s eyes and that he needed further testing at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. Knowing how urgent it was, Dr. Ko told Chelsea that she would call over to the hospital on their behalf to schedule an appointment and then returned explaining that they happened to have availability that very afternoon.
Chelsea explained that she left Dr. Ko’s office confused but completely unaware of the information they were about to receive. She says she will always be grateful for the way the doctor kept them calm during such a frightening moment.
As soon as the family arrived at the hospital, the seriousness of Dominic’s condition became evident. They were immediately brought into a room and met with a pediatric ophthalmologist who delicately explained that Dominic had bilateral retinoblastoma, an aggressive cancer affecting both of his eyes. He carefully walked them through the seriousness of the diagnosis and the testing that would need to take place over the coming days to determine the best course of treatment.
Chelsea says that from that moment forward, life became a blur.
“The week went by so quickly,” she recalls, “but it was also the longest week of my life.”
Over the next several days, Dominic underwent an MRI, a lumbar puncture, and an exam under anesthesia, during which doctors also surgically implanted his chemotherapy port. Amid all the fear and uncertainty, the family received one very important piece of good news — the cancer had not spread beyond Dominic’s eyes.
By the end of that same week, Dominic had already begun his first round of systemic chemotherapy. Initially, doctors believed he would need six rounds before reassessing his condition.
However, after Dominic’s fourth round of chemotherapy, in July of 2025, doctors determined that the tumors in both eyes were continuing to grow. At that point, his medical team knew they needed to change direction and create separate treatment plans for each eye.
For Dominic’s right eye, doctors moved forward with intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC). For the left eye, they began brachytherapy, a form of direct radiation treatment.
After three rounds of IAC, the tumors in Dominic’s right eye were still progressing. In December, doctors proceeded with brachytherapy on the right eye as well. Thankfully, following that treatment, the tumors in the right eye became fully calcified by the end of January 2026.
In Dominic’s left eye, the tumor continues to receive fluorescein. While the tumors in that eye are not yet calcified, they have remained stable. In May of 2026, they received great news that the tumor in the left eye has started to shrink, 8 months after the last treatment.
Today, Dominic continues to be monitored very closely for any changes. Alongside his retinoblastoma journey, he has also faced additional health challenges. He has been hospitalized twice for asthma-related complications, and the family recently learned that he is anemic. As a result, Dominic remains under the careful watch of both his loving parents and his dedicated medical team under the direction of Dr. Sameh Soliman-Gaballah, Dr. Caron Strahlendorf and Dr. Katherine Paton.
Despite everything he has endured, Dominic continues to thrive.
He turned three in December and remains an energetic and cheerful little boy. While portions of his peripheral vision are obstructed, Chelsea says he has quite strong central vision. She describes him as being a “phenomenal” patient throughout this entire ordeal.
Dominic is passionate about cars and loves sports, especially hockey, soccer, and basketball. He loves to run, jump, and play, and Chelsea says he approaches life fearlessly.
Chelsea also shares that there were never any outward signs of Dominic’s condition. The family has searched through photos hoping to find evidence of leukocoria, “the Glow,” but has never been able to identify it. They have even attempted to capture it themselves using flash photography, but still have not been successful.
Because of this, they are especially grateful that Dominic’s cancer was discovered during that early eye exam and addressed so quickly by Dr. Ashley Ko.
Today, Chelsea and her husband, Mervin, are determined to share Dominic’s story in the hopes of educating other families about retinoblastoma and encouraging early pediatric eye exams. They now understand just how critical that initial eye appointment was in leading Dominic to the urgent care and treatment that he so critically needed and want to be sure all parents know to take their children’s vision seriously.
