From childhood cancer to Ms Role Model: Nicole Anderson's story

Nicole Anderson, 33, grew up after a difficult start: doctors found cancerous tumours on both kidneys when she was a baby, and her parents were told she had a 50/50 chance of surviving the surgery. She had major operations and chemotherapy, which left long-term physical effects. Soon after entering remission she needed hip surgery because her right hip socket had not formed in the womb. That surgery meant six months in a wheelchair and learning to walk again.

Nicole trained and worked as a healthcare worker and had not considered beauty contests until her father became seriously ill. Wanting to do things outside her comfort zone, she entered a UK competition, finished in the top five, and then started competing more. Success in UK contests led to invitations to competitions in the US. She entered the Royal International pageant in Orlando, Florida earlier this year and was crowned Ms Role Model. She described surprise and disbelief at winning.

Nicole chose the Ms Role Model category deliberately because it evaluates community involvement, speeches, interviews and proposed projects rather than appearance-based measurements. She says the contest is about what a contestant does for others and how they plan to run their project during the following year.

Her project is called ASK HAY (How Are You) and centres on mental health and looking out for people who are often forgotten. The idea is rooted in her childhood experience: while Nicole was treated in hospital, family and supporters focused on her parents, and Nicole says her older sister Claire — very young at the time — was overlooked yet affected. ASK HAY aims to notice and support those people who may be left out during crises.

Ongoing physical and emotional effects

• Childhood diagnosis: bilateral Wilms tumours (nephroblastoma), unusual because both kidneys were affected.
• Surgeries: removal of her entire left kidney and half of her right kidney before she was four.

• Title: Royal International Ms Role Model, won in Orlando, Florida earlier this year.
• Project: ASK HAY (How Are You), focused on mental health and supporting overlooked people, inspired by her sister's experience during Nicole's childhood illness.

Nicole Anderson's story combines long-term consequences of childhood illness with a deliberate turn toward public service. She uses the platform of an international pageant to promote a mental-health project rooted in family experience, and describes competing as a personal turning point after loss and low points in her life.