To save his 10-month-old daughter from a potentially fatal form of eye cancer, Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher opted for an experimental treatment that could save Tatum's life, her eye and maybe her eyesight.

And in speaking out about retinoblastoma, Fisher has stepped into the spotlight as an unofficial spokesman for what is the most common form of eye cancer in children.

"We felt like we owed it to her to give her a chance to keep her natural eye," Fisher said Thursday, explaining why he sought treatment in New York after a Utah doctor recommended removing Tatum's eye. "My lifelong mission from here on out will be to raise awareness of this disease."

Publicity about the NBA player - who helped clinch an overtime win against the Golden State Warriors Wednesday immediately after flying home from Tatum's New York treatment - may already be making a difference. Her New York doctor said he received a call from a physician who was planning to remove a patient's eye, but now wants to know more about the experiment.

"It's ironic to me that scientific presentations and papers may not be as effective at getting the word out as a point guard," said David Abramson, an eye cancer doctor at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

In some ways, Terrill Hennefer of Murray was relieved to hear that Fisher's daughter has retinoblastoma.

Finally, Hennefer thought, someone with a high profile can talk about a disease that her own 9-month-old boy is fighting.

"I feel bad for them because I know what's it like to have to go through that," she said. "In another way, it was kind of, 'Finally, there is somebody important enough people will take attention to.' "

Saving children's eyes: Typically with retinoblastoma, which is almost exclusively found in children, parents are the first to spot the problem. Fisher's wife, Candice, noticed that one of Tatum's eyes glowed when a light hit it at a certain angle.

Parents may also notice their child's pupil is whitish instead of black. Sometimes, photos reveal the condition - a child will have one red eye common in photos and one white eye. And if a child's normally straight eyes become crossed, that could be a sign of cancer or some other condition, doctors said.

Some 350 cases of retinoblastoma are diagnosed each year in the United States.

While the Fishers' first Utah pediatrician downplayed the problem, the couple continued to ask questions. Another doctor recognized the symptoms and referred Tatum to an ophthalmologist.

Tatum's cancer was advanced - her tumor takes up more than 50 percent of her eye and for now, she has lost her vision, Abramson said. In such cases, removing the eye has been the only option.

But Abramson - called the "dean of retinoblastoma" on his Web site - and New York surgeon Pierre Gobin believe they've found a way to save eyes.

The two are conducting a clinical trial on a treatment that delivers a high concentration of chemotherapy - 200 times the concentration that kills humans - directly into the cancerous eye's artery, which is thinner than dry spaghetti, Abramson said.

Tatum was the 10th child to undergo the surgery since the study began last May, said Gobin, a surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center.

"Impressive technical feat": The surgery requires passing a tube through the groin artery, the abdomen, chest, neck and brain and eventually into the ophthalmic artery, the blood vessel in the eye, Abramson explained.

"This is a very small blood vessel in a place where you're passing a tube. It's an impressive technical feat," Abramson said.

Over 30 minutes, chemotherapy is delivered to the cancerous site, instead of being spread throughout the body.

"We deliver a very high dose precisely where the cancer is, rather than give a dose to the entire body when less than 1 percent of it will get to the eye," Abramson said.

So far, the New York doctors haven't had to remove their clinical-trial patients' eyes. And in some cases, the surgery has helped restore sight, Abramson said.

"The technique is working so well, we think that it's going to be a major part of the treatment of retinoblastoma," Gobin said. "Our hope is we'll not have to remove any eyes, ever."

Abramson said Tatum may need another dose of chemotherapy as well as other treatments to remove the tumor, such as freezing it or using lasers.

Tatum's cancer is not genetic, which is good news. Children with the genetic form have a greater chance of having other types of cancer later in life. Abramson has examined Tatum's twin, Drew, whose eyes look fine.

"Her prognosis for life is excellent," Abramson said, noting that while half the children in the world who have this form of cancer will die, his center has a 99 percent success rate. "I think we will save her life. We have a high, but not 100 percent, chance of saving her eye. We actually have a chance of bringing back her vision. Time will tell."

It will be unfortunate if doctors later have to remove Tatum's eye, Abramson said, "but still would be a great success because we save a child's life."

"You can be successful": J.R. Jensen, an Orem man who lost one eye to the cancer as a child 30 years ago, is among those excited to see Fisher bring attention to the disease.

"He raised more awareness just mentioning it on TV than I could do in an entire lifetime," said Jensen, who is worried that his unborn twin daughters may also develop the cancer.

While Jensen's cancer wasn't genetic, there is a 50 percent chance that one of his daughters will wrestle with the same problem. A specialist in Los Angeles is monitoring the twins.

Jensen wants Tatum and other children to know the cancer doesn't have to stop them.

Terrill Hennefer knew something was wrong with her son Jaxson when he couldn't track moving objects with his eyes. At his two-month pediatric check up, the boy's doctor agreed that his vision was somehow impaired and referred him to a pediatric ophthalmologist at Primary Children's Medical Center. It treats six to 10 retinoblastoma patients a year.

Doctors discovered tumors on both of Jaxson's eyes, and they could migrate to his brain. Much to his parents' relief, however, the tumors had not encroached on his optic nerve.

Within a week of his diagnosis in October, Jaxson began a six-month regimen of chemotherapy that ended in March. Every three months for the next five years, he'll have checkups.

Already, however, one tumor has grown back on Jaxson's right eye, the Hennefers' learned at his last checkup.

But the Hennefers are encouraged, too. Jaxson can now trace objects with his eyes.

"I know that [his vision] has improved," Terrill Hennefer said. "Every time I go in [to the doctor] I just hope it doesn't continue to come back, that he gets to keep both of his eyes."