LAS VEGAS (AP) — Miss District of Columbia Allyn Rose has fallen short in her bid to become Miss America, despite successfully conveying a message about breast cancer prevention.

The 24-year-old Rose did not make the cut Saturday evening when judges winnowed the field of contestants from 53 to 16.

She made headlines by announcing plans to undergo a preventive double mastectomy after the competition to reduce her risk of breast cancer, the disease that killed her mother, grandmother and great aunt.

One cancer expert said preventive surgery was a “very reasonable” choice for someone with Rose’s family history and genetic predisposition.

The University of Maryland, College Park, politics major said Wednesday that her mother “would have given up every part of her body to be here for me, to watch me in the pageant.” But she added, “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.”

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)