Healthy Living

Jennifer Caras is just like any other mom. She has three little ones, and feels like she has to do everything in her power to take care of them for as long as possible. Especially considering how both her mother and grandmother battled breast cancer, and her sister, Julie, died at the far too young age of 28 from a brain tumor. That said, Jennifer is not taking any chances. She's made the difficult decision to have both breasts removed in an elective double mastectomy next month.

Caras' story is an increasingly common one. Both Sharon Osbourne and Miss America contestant Allyn Rose came out recently noting that they've done or plan to do the same. Not that that makes what Jennifer is going through any less difficult. But she explained to her local CBS news station why the surgery's going to be well worth it in the long-run ...

Jennifer says:

I always feel like I have three good reasons to do it and it’s my three little ones. I’ve got to be around for them a long time, and I’ve got to be healthy.

Though it's important to note that there are side effects and a 1 percent chance cancer will develop after the surgery, Jennifer will be dramatically reducing her risk of breast cancer by doing it. And that's just about everything someone with high risk -- due to family history and/or a test result that's positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene -- could want.

While the road ahead isn't necessarily going to be an easy one, it seems like Jennifer has all the resources she needs to get through it like a champ. She says:

Taking this into my own hands and eliminating my risk ... it is a big decision. It is a big decision, but it feels right and it feels empowering to take it off my plate.

And that's all any woman needs to know when taking this incredibly brave path.

Here's the news segment on Jennifer's story ...

Would you make the same decision if you were in this mom's shoes?

Image via CBS