BRAVE Holly Worswick thought her recurrent headaches were from not drinking enough water.
But after she claims her GP blamed her symptoms on her contraceptive pill, a routine eye check revealed Holly had a brain tumour.
Holly Worswick claims her GP blamed her headaches on her contraceptive pill[/caption]
But a routine eye exam led to a diagnosis of a benign brain tumour[/caption]
Surgeons removed the tumour, but numerous skull infections mean Holly’s had a further five brain surgeries[/caption]
Surgeons removed the tumour three days later, but the 26-year-old has since battled skull infections and the benign tumour regrowing “to the size of a grape” twice in the past two years.
Despite five brain surgeries and proton beam radiotherapy Holly, a pageant queen, is now looking to be crowned Miss England.
Holly still lives with the worrying mass near her ear canal and is currently suffering with an infection, so fears this may impact her balance on the catwalk.
Shocking images show the dramatic head scarring and inflammation she’s battled with since her first surgery.
Holly, who now lives in Macclesfield, Cheshire, previously claimed her complaints of vision loss and headaches were brushed off by her GP as side effects of the contraceptive pill.
A Specsavers appointment in February 2021 worried opticians so she had a CT and MRI scan later that day that revealed a benign tumour.
Despite surgeons successfully extracting the mass she was readmitted a month later as the flap of skull removed during surgery became infected.
A third operation in July 2021 saw medics insert a metal plate to cover the gap in her skull that had left her with a visible dent in her head.
Holly said: “I was getting a lot of headaches and I always thought it was because I didn’t drink enough [water], but then I started getting really bad blurred vision.
“I’d be driving and my sight would just go. I thought, ‘this isn’t normal’, so I went to the doctors and they just thought it was to do with the pill I was on.
“I’m not a doctor so I don’t know what they could have done, but they didn’t even look into it, which is a bit ridiculous to be honest.
“Luckily I was due for a check-up at Specsavers a few days later, so when they took pictures of the back of my eye they found the optic nerves were four times the size they should be.
“The optician gave me a letter and said I need to go to A&E now and get a CT and MRI scan. They told me about the mass later that day.
“The surgeon said it’s been growing for 10 years, 1-2mm per year, like a ticking time bomb.
“So it would have just kept on growing if the opticians didn’t recognise it. We even got them flowers afterwards.”
Holly says the routine check-up at Specsavers saved her life. Without it, she wouldn’t have found the tumour.
If you keep getting headaches that are quite severe to the point where you can’t do anything, you need to get that checked out. It’s better to be safe than sorry
Holly Worswick
She added: “If you keep getting headaches that are quite severe to the point where you can’t do anything, you need to get that checked out. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
An MRI scan in November 2022 showed the tumour had regrown so she had her fourth surgery in January to remove it.
She was given the devastating news that it had returned in November 2023 so she underwent a fifth surgery in February 2024.
She began targeted proton beam therapy in July last year and is now suffering with another skull infection and issues with her ear due to the tumour’s new position.
Running for Miss England
The pageant queen represented Cheshire at Miss International UK 2018 but her health struggles put her passion on the back-burner.
She’s announced her return for the Miss Cheshire Final next month [March 8] with the hope of scooping the title and slugging it out for the national title later this year.
Holly, who’s also a PE teacher, admits she’s nervous people will notice marks from her gruelling surgeries but hopes competing will restore her confidence and raise awareness of brain tumours.
Holly, from Warrington, Cheshire, said: “I was fearless in 2018 but because of the surgeries I’d had I feel like it’s really obvious when you look at me.
“People say it’s not obvious but I feel more self-conscious than I did previously which is making me more nervous for this one.
“I represented Cheshire when I was younger so hopefully I can finish what I’ve started.
“The tumour is now in my ear canal so it keeps leaking, it’s itchy and it keeps popping like I’m on a plane all the time.
“My balance is very off so I’m slightly worried about that in the run up to the final because I fall over in trainers and I’ll be in heels.
The tumour is now in Holly’s ear canal[/caption]
Despite all odds, Holly is hoping to compete for Miss England[/caption]
“It’s because of my ear but my balance hasn’t been great since the first surgery anyway.
“This isn’t exactly the run-up I wanted and I don’t feel great but it’s not like I’ve had surgery again and I’m learning to walk.
“I’ve had to switch my mindset from waiting until everything is okay again to getting on with things.
“I’ve come to terms with the fact that something like an infection might happen so I’m being positive but I’m more realistic now.
“This has given me another purpose to raise awareness and [that] Miss England isn’t all about looks.
“In schools they don’t cover anything about brain tumours and I’m trying to get my story out there and raise awareness.”
Holly says the Miss Cheshire Final is scored on skills such as confidence, posture and even communication when being interviewed.
Symptoms of a benign brain tumour
A benign brain tumour is a mass of cells that grows relatively slowly in the brain.
Benign means it in not cancerous.
Non-cancerous brain tumours tend to stay in one place and do not spread.
Some slow-growing tumours may not cause any symptoms at first.
When symptoms occur, it’s because the tumour is putting pressure on the brain and preventing a specific area of the brain from working properly.
As the tumour grows and increases pressure in the skull, you might experience:
- New, persistent headaches that are sometimes worse in the morning or when bending over or coughing
- Feeling sick all the time
- Drowsiness
- Vision problems, such as blurred or double vision, loss of part of your visual field and temporary vision loss
- Epileptic seizures that may affect the whole body, or you may just have a twitch in one area
See a GP if you develop any of these symptoms.
They’ll examine you and ask about your symptoms.
If they suspect you may have a tumour or are not sure what’s causing your symptoms, they may refer you to a brain and nerve specialist for further investigation.
Source: NHS
