Hudson Valley beauty queen raises awareness about rare genetic disorder

Brianna Worden is the current Miss New York International and suffers from a rare genetic disorder that affects the nervous system, called neurofibromatosis or “NF.”

Blaise Gomez

May 4, 2022, 7:55 PM

Updated 947 days ago

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A Hudson Valley beauty queen is raising awareness to a genetic disorder that she’s suffered with since she was a baby. 
Brianna Worden is the current Miss New York International and suffers from a rare genetic disorder that affects the nervous system, called neurofibromatosis or “NF.”
The 26-year-old from Grahamsville, in Sullivan County, was diagnosed when she was 2 months old and suffers from inoperable tumors on her arm and inside her body.
She says just because someone is sick or may look different, it doesn’t define who they are.
“What I want people to know is that while I might have a disease or disorder it doesn’t impact who I am as a person,” says Worden. “I have NF but it doesn’t have me.”
Worden was also the 2020 ambassador for the Children’s Tumor Foundation, a nonprofit she continues to work with to raise money for research and a cure.