Allyn Rose On How Women Can Advocate For Themselves While Discussing Options For A Mastectomy - Exclusive

When Allyn Rose made the decision to receive a prophylactic double mastectomy at age 26, "It was a terrifying thing," she said during an exclusive interview with Health Digest.

After losing her mother, grandmother, and great-aunt to breast cancer, Rose knew it was the right decision to make. However, she didn't feel at all prepared for all of the other decisions that came along with it. She didn't know anyone her age who'd had the same experience, so she was forced to navigate everything entirely on her own.

"Nobody had put together a comprehensive resource for men and women to learn about their options for mastectomy and breast reconstruction," Rose said. "It was mind blowing to me that you had to have a PhD in Google to find out what the choices were."

It turns out that there are lots of decisions to be made throughout the process, and it can be difficult to decide exactly what to do next. Looking back, "I wished that there had been some resource for me going through the surgery," Rose said, "preparing for it, that would've made me feel empowered."

It was then that she decided to create her own breast health platform called The Previvor so no one would ever have to feel alone in their experience.

Allyn Rose believes 'knowledge is really power'

As Allyn Rose was creating The Previvor, she heard shocking stories from people around the world who had horrible experiences while choosing mastectomy and reconstruction options.

"Women would go to their doctors' offices, and the doctor would only recommend what they specialized in instead of what was necessarily the best for the woman's body type, or lifestyle, or personal preference," Rose explained. In one instance, she heard stories from women who had woken up from their mastectomies with breast implants — even after they had told their doctors they didn't want them.

Conducting extensive research before entering surgery is the only way to feel confident when it comes to making decisions. Yet many women haven't had the resources they needed in order to make these life-changing decisions — until The Previvor came along, arming them with important information to help them advocate for themselves. "Knowledge is really power," Rose said. "When you take away the fear of the unknown, women are able to go into challenging things like mastectomy and reconstruction from an empowered standpoint."

The Previvor is the first fully comprehensive platform for everyone to learn about breast health. Visit their website to learn about genetic testing, mastectomies and reconstruction, IVF and fertility, how to support a family member or a friend, and more. For reminders to perform monthly self breast exams, follow Allyn Rose on Instagram @allynrose.