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Beauty Queen's Life Saved by Optician's Routine Scan
14 Mar
Summary
- A routine eye test in 2021 revealed a grapefruit-sized brain tumour.
- The beauty queen underwent five surgeries following the discovery.
- She used her platform to raise awareness about tumour signs.
In 2021, a routine eye examination for beauty pageant contestant Holly Worswick led to a life-saving discovery of a grapefruit-sized brain tumour. The 26-year-old from Macclesfield was immediately taken to A&E, where surgeons operated on her within two days.
This initial surgery was followed by four more brain operations and an ear surgery. Worswick credits the optician's advanced optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan, which revealed her right optic nerve was four times its normal size, for her survival.
She paused her teacher training due to the diagnosis and subsequent treatments. Now, having completed proton beam radiotherapy in August 2024, she uses her pageant platform to educate others on recognizing tumour symptoms and encourages prompt medical attention if something feels wrong.
Worswick was a finalist at the Miss England pageant in November 2025, representing her hometown. She expressed pride in her journey, hoping her experience inspires at least one person to get an OCT scan.
