Former Miss USA Contestant Underwent Preventative Double Mastectomy to End Family Cancer Legacy

Allyn Rose, a former Miss USA pageant competitor, made the life-altering decision at age 26 to undergo a preventative double mastectomy after breast cancer devastated her family. The model, who also competed in the Miss America pageant, stated that her choice even led to receiving "hate mail" from critics.

Today, Rose, now 38, is the founder of The Previvor, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating women about breast cancer risks and prevention options. October 31 marks the end 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 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."

Rose's mother, Judy Rose, was first diagnosed with breast cancer at 27. The cancer later spread to her remaining breast, reaching stage 3, and Judy died at 51. Rose's maternal grandmother and great aunt also died from the disease.

"I don't want that to be my story," Rose 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."

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. Approximately 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 321,910 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among U.S. women in 2026, with about 42,140 deaths from the disease.

Rose was considered at elevated risk due to her extensive family history. In 2012, she was crowned Miss District of Columbia, qualifying her for the 2013 Miss America pageant. Two years later, at age 24, she announced her decision to have the preventive surgery, which she underwent at 26.

For women with a significant family history of breast cancer, a bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy can decrease the risk of developing the disease by up to 90%, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, the procedure cannot entirely eliminate the risk, as it is impossible to remove all breast tissue.

"So much of my life and my identity was wrapped up in the way that I looked and how I presented myself to the world," Rose said. "I paid my bills and my rent with the way that I looked. I didn't think [my looks] were 100% of my identity, but I would be lying if I didn't consider the repercussions of having a surgery like this. It would very likely end my modeling career, my career in pageantry, my career really in the entertainment industry. There were so few women talking about having a procedure like this and coming out on the other side."

Rose made her decision before actress Angelina Jolie publicly shared her own experience with a preventive double mastectomy due to a BRCA1 gene mutation.

In May 2013, Jolie wrote in The New York Times that her doctors estimated an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer. She opted for a double mastectomy, significantly reducing her breast cancer risk.

Rose recalled receiving hate mail for her decision, and her father also faced criticism for encouraging her surgery. "To see a young person who walked on the Miss USA stage, who worked full-time as a model, who was really in this beauty industry — choosing to almost end my career to prolong my life seemed like a foreign concept," Rose said.

Despite her initial fears that the surgery would end her career, Rose was featured in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2019, becoming the first woman to model for the publication after undergoing a double mastectomy.

"I do think about what my mom would think, and I know she would be incredibly proud of me," Rose said, adding, "One of the last things she said to me was, 'Don't let my life be in vain.' And I made a promise to her that I would make use of every day that she didn't have. And so, that has been my mission from the day that she passed to ensure that I could help as many women as possible not have to walk their lives without their mom. That's my goal."

Rose currently travels the country advocating for "the power in prevention." She noted that her two children do not carry the same gene mutation, and their risk of cancer has been reduced, fulfilling her promise to her mother. "And that legacy ended with me, and I know my mom would be very proud that I did that."