'I had cancer as a child, now I'm an beauty pageant queen'

When Nicole Anderson was a child her parents were told she had only a 50% chance of surviving surgery.

She went through a series of operations and chemotherapy as a baby, after cancerous tumours were found on her kidneys.

And she had to have further treatment for congenital hip dysplasia, when it was discovered she had been born without a right hip socket.

Now 33, the healthcare worker from Cumbernauld is celebrating being crowned an international beauty pageant queen.

"My parents were once told it was 50/50 I would make it through surgery, so I want to use that as motivation to have the best life now," she told BBC Scotland News.

She contacted BBC Your Voice to share her experience after scooping the title of Royal International's Ms Role Model at a contest in Florida earlier this year.

When Nicole was a baby she was found to have bilateral wilms tumours - also known as nephroblastoma.

It is mostly diagnosed in children, but usually found on one kidney. In Nicole's case, the cancer was found on both - meaning before she was even four years old she had undergone surgery to remove her entire left kidney and half of her right one.

"I don't remember any of it as I was young, but I still have the multiple scars from surgery", she says.

"My mum tells me stories about what she and my dad went through and how there were different procedures I had to go through. There are still a number of after-effects from the chemo I was given that affect me to this day."

However, as soon as Nicole entered remission, she was back in hospital for surgery again - this time on her hip.

"They had to do surgery to create a new hip socket as it hadn't formed properly in the womb," she says.

"I spent six months in a wheelchair and then essentially I had to learn to walk again, aged about five.

"I still have problems with my hip to this day, as I have arthritis earlier than most people will get it, and walking long distances is still difficult as it can just freeze up."

This has meant Nicole has gone through difficult times, struggling with confidence issues in her teens.

Even today, in a positive headspace, there are lingering effects.

"I don't ever run as I know I have a limp. I'd rather miss a train or bus than run for them because I know how visible the limp is and I feel self-conscious," she says.

Entering a beauty contest had never crossed her mind, as she focused on a career as a healthcare worker.

However, when her dad Eddie fell seriously ill she started thinking about doing things outside of her usual comfort zone.

"It was just before my dad passed away and I was wanting to do things that I would never have done before or normally think I was capable of," she says.

"It was in Manchester and I thought it would be a one off, but I finished in the top five and caught the pageant bug at that point."

Success in UK pageants earned her an invitation to contests in America, and ultimately her victory earlier this year in Orlando, Florida.

"This was my last attempt, so I thought it was a nice way to go out and I ended up winning. There was utter disbelief on my face."

She chose the Ms Role Model contests because it focuses on being active in your community and what you do to help others.

It's a world away from old cliches about Miss World, she says.

"It is all about the person you are. There is a lot of misinformation that these are all about how you look and you'll be standing onstage reading out your measurements.

"It's not about that at all. It's things like giving a speech, meeting the judges, and being interviewed by them about a project that you are proposing be used in the next year."

Nicole's project is called ASK HAY (How Are You), centred on mental health.

The roots of it go back to her childhood and her older sister Claire, one of three siblings who she is close to.

"It's about looking out for people that are often forgotten about," she says.

"It was partially inspired by my big sister. When I was in hospital and had the tumours my parents were being supported by other family members.

"However my big sister was so young that people thought she didn't really understand what was going on. But it was affecting her and now, even into adulthood, it still does."

The competitions have helped Nicole herself, too.

"It reintroduced me to myself after a really difficult few years," she says.

"I had been in a really bad place with a lot of things going on. As crazy as it sounds, pageants saved me and gave me passion back.

"My life would be completely different now if I hadn't done it."