PHOENIX — A Valley toddler is undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer, but his doctor isn't in Arizona.
Jazmin Givens first noticed something was wrong with her 11-month-old son, Enzo Ruiz, when his right eye began wandering.
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Givens said doctors told her it would go away with age, but her mother's intuition spoke louder.
“One day, we’re thinking that he’s going to the eye doctor to get treated for a lazy eye," Givens said. "The next day we’re finding out that he has cancer.”
Ruiz was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that almost always occurs in children younger than 6 years old, according to Phoenix Children's Hospital.
"The fact that he had bilateral, which means it's in both eyes is even more rare," Givens said.
To make the difficult diagnosis even more challenging, Ruiz has to travel nearly 2,000 miles to see a specialist.
Givens said they weren't able to find a specialist in Arizona who could treat retinoblastoma.
“We will need to be traveling to Wisconsin once a month to get him treated," Givens said.
A doctor at Children's Wisconsin in Milwaukee staged the cancer at stage B in Ruiz's left eye and stage E in his right.
Ruiz underwent surgery to remove his right eye, but doctors told Givens there's a chance they can save his left.
“After his first chemo treatment, we’ll know whether or not he’s going to be able to have his full vision restored," Givens said.
Givens said Ruiz with undergo chemotherapy in Phoenix, but they will travel to Milwaukee every month for the next six months for cryotherapy.
If treatment is successful, Givens said they'll visit Milwaukee less frequently over a five-year remission period.
A GoFundMe page was created to help pay for medical and travel expenses. Anyone who wishes to donate can click here.
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