At age 26, Allyn Rose made a life-changing decision after cancer had devastated her family.The model, who competed in both the Miss America and Miss USA pageants, underwent a preventive double mastectomy, a decision she said even sparked "hate mail" from critics.Today, the mother of two is the founder of The Previvor, a nonprofit organization that educates women about breast cancer risk and prevention options.
Oct.31 marks the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month."I know a lot of people think that's a pretty radical choice for someone who hadn't been diagnosed with breast cancer yet," Rose, now 38, told Fox News Digital.
"But I lost my mom when I was 16.And by the time I was 16, I had lost my grandmother, my great aunt, almost every woman in my family to this disease.
And I said that legacy ends with me."KAI TRUMP REVEALS HOW FAMILY RALLIED AROUND MOM VANESSA AMID BREAST CANCER BATTLE: ‘IT’S A LONG JOURNEY’Allyn Rose competed in both the Miss America and Miss USA pageants.She won the Miss Maryland USA title in 2011 and later competed at the national Miss USA pageant that year.
(Miss Universe Organization/Courtesy of Allyn Rose)"I don't want that to be my story," she said."I don't want to have to tell my 16-year-old daughter someday that she's going to have to spend the rest of her life without her mom.
This sad family legacy was not going to take my life if I had anything to do with it."Rose's mother, Judy Rose, was first diagnosed with breast cancer at 27 and had her right breast removed.The cancer later developed in her remaining breast, reaching stage 3, according to People magazine.
Judy died at 51.Allyn Rose’s mother, Judy Rose, died from breast cancer in 2004.(Courtesy of Allyn Rose)Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S.
after skin cancers, accounting for about 1 in 3 new cancer cases diagnosed in women each year, according to the American Cancer Society.About 1 in 8 U.S.
women will develop breast cancer during the...