Mummy Buzz

Jan
15
2013

Double Mastectomy For Miss America Contestant

Bye Bye Barbie

A contestant in this year's Miss America pageant is taking radical measures to prevent the breast cancer that claimed the lives of her mother, grandmother and great aunt. 

According to an article in the Star, Miss DC, 24-year-old Allyn Rose has announced plans to undergo a double mastectomy after the contest finale. Win or lose, she will go under the knife and have both breasts removed as a preventative measure—a decision that has shocked many in the medical community. 

Indeed, the procedure is "very unusual" for someone in her early 20s, said Todd Tuttle, the chief of surgical oncology at the University of Minnesota.

As the Star points out, if Miss DC wins the crown, she will be the first Miss America "not endowed with the Barbie silhouette associated with beauty queens."

What do you think of her decision? Brave and bold, or pre-emptive paranoia?