A stunning paralegal will be hiding a powerful secret when she takes to the stage at the finals of Miss Universe GB in July. Her long shining locks will be a wig hiding a bald head caused by chemotherapy treatment for blood cancer.
Hoping to represent Great Britain at Miss Universe in December, Anglee Kumar, 27, entered to show other people enduring illness and hardship that anything is possible, after being diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in September 2021. She was diagnosed, after complaining for months of chest tightness and heart palpitations.
After six gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, Anglee lost all her beautiful waist-length brown hair. She said: "I want people to know they can get through anything.
“When I got my diagnosis, everyone was shocked because I’ve always been so healthy. In fact, I’ve always been a fitness freak. I joined a gym when I was 16.”
In February 2021, Anglee felt some discomfort in her chest and was given inflammation tablets to ease the pain. But in April, the symptoms became so bad she was struggling to walk.
She continued: “But the palpitations kept happening, so I asked the private GP to refer me to a cardiologist.” During the following months, Anglee had a series of tests, which all came back normal.
While one blood test returned “abnormal” results, she was reassured that it was nothing serious. Her chest pains and breathlessness escalated, so Anglee saw a lung specialist and a rheumatologist and demanded to have a CT scan.
A subsequent scan and biopsy found four cancerous lesions in the top of her diaphragm and lungs. Anglee, who lives with her parents Mala, 47, and Mohan, 54, both business people, and her twin sister Tina Kumar, 27, a paralegal, younger sister Khusboo, 21, a university student, and brother Ram, 16, said: “I knew something was wrong, but I never expected it to be cancer.”
Anglee’s lung specialist initially suspected she had stage 2 non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a cancer that starts in the white blood cells – but tests in November revealed that it had spread to her lungs and was stage 4, making it far more serious.
Starting chemotherapy on November 16 at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital, she said: “After every chemo I was very unwell and was hospitalised a few times. Two days after my first session I was hospitalised.
“I spent the day after my birthday in hospital throwing up. I felt so unwell, it took me 10 days to recover after every session of chemo.”
And when her hair started falling out in early December, she locked herself in her room and avoided seeing people altogether. Luckily, as her cancer journey progressed, so did her attitude to the disease and in January 2022 she decided to apply for Miss Universe, as she wanted to use the platform to inspire other young girls and young women.
In February she had her final round of chemotherapy – with medics now believing she will soon be clear of cancer – while the same month she was told she was a finalist in the competition.
She said: “I’m getting my energy back and I’m getting my voice back. When I get on that stage, I will feel as beautiful as I ever have. Whether I have hair or not, with make up or not, I feel amazing.
“My platform in the competition is about helping young girls and women find their confidence so they can live to their best potential. I’ve just endured the most difficult six months of my life, and this has not been easy to share so publicly, but I hope it can help inspire other women."
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