Kristina Coccoluto, 39, lived a healthy lifestyle — green juices, organic food and working out all the time. But the shadow of cancer hung over her.

Her mother has had breast cancer twice, and two aunts have had it. One of those aunts died of breast and ovarian cancer. Coccoluto herself had melanoma , which may be linked with breast cancer , when she was 20.

At age 25, genetic testing showed that she had a mutation in the BRCA gene that puts her at much higher risk than average for breast and ovarian cancer. She says her lifetime risk of breast cancer was 87%, and of ovarian cancer was 60%.

She chose surveillance — monitoring her breasts carefully for any suspicious signs. A double mastectomy would lower her risk. But she tells TODAY, “I was not really open to the idea of lo

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