The Highlight Issue 12 'Brighter Days Ahead'

“To me, being a woman means being able to do it all,” says Allyn Rose, having balanced motherhood, started a business and undergone a preventative double mastectomy in her twenties after losing her mother and grandmother to breast cancer. “I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to have my surgery and save my own life,” she admits. “I now have six scars that remind me that I was tough enough to put my health first.” Allyn Rose credits her ability to change her mindset to her post-surgery successes, including becoming the first woman with a mastectomy to model for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit : “Wounds heal, scars fade, and if you’re lucky, surgery can sometimes become a distant memory,” she shares, encouraging everyone, irrelevant of their circumstances, to “never stop chasing your dreams.” Preventative healthcare advocate and founder of The Previvor Foundation (@allynrose) INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY