Posted on 01/11/2013 4:35:40 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Win or lose Saturday, Miss America contestant Allyn Rose will have conveyed a message about breast cancer prevention using her primary tool as a beauty queen: her body.
The 24-year-old Miss DC plans to undergo a double mastectomy after she struts in a bikini and flaunts her roller skating talent. She is removing both breasts as a preventive measure to reduce her chances of developing the disease that killed her mother, grandmother and great aunt.
"My mom would have given up every part of her body to be here for me, to watch me in the pageant," she said between dress rehearsals and preliminary competitions at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip Wednesday. "If there's something that I can do to be proactive, it might hurt my body, it might hurt my physical beauty, but I'm going to be alive."
If crowned, the University of Maryland, College Park politics major could become the first Miss America not endowed with the Barbie silhouette associated with beauty queens.
Rose said it was her father who first broached the subject, during her freshman year of college, two years after the death of her mother
"I said, 'Dad I'm not going to do that. I like the body I have.' He got serious and said, 'Well then you're going to end up dead like your mom.' "
She has pondered that conversation for the past three years, during which she has worked as a model and won several pageants, including Miss Maryland USA, Miss Sinergy and the Miss District of Columbia competition, which put her in the running for Saturday's bonanza.
(Excerpt) Read more at rr.com ...
http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/guide/preventive-mastectomy
My grandmother died from breast cancer. If this was an option back then, she would have done it. And, no, it is not BS. There are women in their early 20s who are opting for this as a matter of survival.
My mother died Oct. 30 . I had my surgery Dec. 18 . They take the nipples and you still have to have mammograms . Cancer can appear above or below the silicone . There are plenty of BC forums that are very informative .
You obviously don’t keep up with the current trends in breast cancer prevention and treatment. This has become very common and with her family history makes total sense.
hum? I had ovarian cancer, the docs found stage 3 cancer in my ovaries.
Oh, well it’s been 25 years, now.
My daughter has had all those tests, and has no markers.
(because my maternal aunt may have died from breast cancer)
“.. 5 years ago I had a lump in my breast...”
I am glad you had the lump removed. Even men can get breast cancer (it is rarer but it does happen)
“Lots of women get tats.”
This is a serious subject so I will not make the obvious play on words...that’s similar to Toys for Tots.
Glad you made a full recovery, svcw. God was with you.
A woman having her breasts removed YEARS and even DECADES before she MIGHT develop breast cancer is NOT a “matter of survival”.
I think I might be nauseous some day, so why don’t I just throw up right now and be done with it...
I know two young women who had it done. I can assure you that it wasn't done for cosmetic reasons.
OK Dr.
Whatever you say.
I went to the University of MD and never saw anything like that walking around campus....
I haven’t been on any of the 20 yr. old boards so don’t know how common it is . Just 30 to 50 .
If your uncle, your father, and your grandfather all died of pinkie cancer and your own tests showed you have all the genes leading to pinkie cancer, I bet you would be walking around with eight fingers right now....
Maybe. But ONLY IF they died of pinkie cancer while in the early 20’s.
I think the point is that developing breast cancer is a very high risk for Miss Rose. But not at her age.
And you would be wrong. I have a very good idea of what will kill me from my family history. I would not choose surgery if I were not actually ill, however. Also, with the rapid developments going on in medicine, this is just an overreaction to what has not happened, may not happened, and might soon be relatively easily fixed. I can understand a woman choosing to be very, very vigilant if her family has a long history of breast cancer, but to have your breasts removed when you might never even develop the disease makes no sense.
One of my former employees just had this done.....she is in her late 30s and I was stunned when she told me about her plans. Her mother died in her mid-50s of breast cancer after battling it for years.....and my ex-employee had the “genetic markers” which she said made her like 95 percent disposed to getting breast cancer.......just my two cents.
My mom actually had 2 different types of breast cancers. Actually killed her when she was in her 70’s after 15 yrs of treatment. Not planning to cut mine off until there is a reason.
I saw a bunch of shady people in College Park when I stayed for a weekend. I was in a low rent area.
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