Model & Cancer Survivor Inspires Others
- Livi Deane is a 24-year-old Vogue-featured model from England who lost her eye due to retinoblastoma when she was a child.
- She was diagnosed at age 12 after an eye test detected a black mass in the back of her eye; she had chemotherapy to treat it.
- Retinoblastoma is the most common type of eye cancer found in children, but it is rare; approximately 200-300 children will be diagnosed with it in the U.S. each year.
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Today, Deane regularly poses for photos without her prosthetic eye, and she’s candid and open about her disability and her experiences. Her transparency around her experiences and her bravery in presenting her authentic self to the world is truly commendable.
She tells Yahoo! Life UK, “I used to only post pictures of myself wearing my prosthetic eye and even then, I'd delete hundreds of them because it looked like I had a lazy eye.”
“But over the last four years, I've realized that I have been wearing my prosthetic eye in order not to scare other people,” she says. “Every morning I see myself without my eye, and so does [my boyfriend] Max. Why should I have to hide away from the world? I don't need the eye to feel pretty anymore and if anything, I feel more confident without it. But it's taken several years for me to grow in confidence and I want to be able to inspire others.”
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Understanding Retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma is a rare type of cancer that begins in the retina, the back part of the eye. Although rare, it's also the most common type of eye cancer found in children. This disease accounts for approximately 2% of all childhood cancers, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Annually, approximately 200 to 300 children are diagnosed with retinoblastoma in the United States. Treatment options for this disease includes freezing and laser therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.
Livi’s Cancer Journey & Treatment
When she was 12 years old, Deane went to the doctor for a routine eye test. During the test, a black mass in the back of her eye was detected and she was sent to the hospital.
After she went to the hospital, she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma. Typically, this cancer occurs in younger children, generally under the age of 5. At 12, Deane began to get treatment for her disease.
Her doctor assured her that her diagnosis was not terminal, saying that the “worst case” scenario is she may lose her eye to cancer. Deane underwent six months of chemotherapy during which she lost her hair, which impacted her confidence. “It was a difficult time,” Deane tells Yahoo! Life UK. “I was at the age where girls and boys were beginning to fancy each other and I felt very alone and was always ill.”
“A few nasty things were said about my appearance,” she says, “though thankfully I had a lovely close group of friends, but I just wanted to be treated like everyone else.” Deane went into remission, but her cancer returned the following year. She again had chemo, and her right eye needed to be removed for further treatment.
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Today, she is a working model and businesswoman who’s an inspiration for countless others. Deane is a beautiful example of how well you can thrive on the other side of cancer and positively impact others in the process.
Coping with Hair Loss During Cancer Treatment
Self-Acceptance During Cancer
Adjusting to life with a cancer diagnosis or post-cancer treatment takes inner-strength and inner-work. Deane herself writes on Instagram that losing her eye didn’t hold her back as she’d originally thought it might. In the midst of disease, it can be hard to see the big picture remind yourself, as you’re able that this is a temporary state that will pass.
Deane tells her followers in a post, “…I honestly would have never dreamed of as I always thought losing my eye was going to hold me back. BOY WAS I WRONG!…”
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Getting to a place of self-acceptance while battling cancer can take a while, especially because many people may experience grief or even depression after their diagnosis. Take the time you need, and do things that help you feel like “you.”
It Took Me a Very Long Time to Feel Like Myself Again And That's OK
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