Breast cancer has become a growing concern in United States. As per the Centers for disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 41,150 women and 405 men died from breast cancer in the United States. But advancement in research and technology has opened several options before patients battling with breast cancer.

Isabelle Hopper said when she learned that she had cancer in her right breast her first thought was to have both the breasts removed. The 37-year-old said, “I’m not the type of person who likes to be reactive. I want to be proactive, and when you’re dealing with cancer, proactive takes on an entirely new meaning”.

Hopper is also among the growing population of women across Florida and the country that is opting for double mastectomy out of concerns that cancer could grow in the unaffected breast.

Robert X. Murphy Jr., MD, and former president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said in a statement that he very well understands Hopper’s concerns. He said the practice where women select to remove not only the breast with cancer but the other as well has become very common.

Another breast cancer patient Dana Everson made a similar decision and when she asked her doctor concerning about appearance she felt that a double-mastectomy gave her more choices when it comes to reconstructing breasts.

Presently there are few breast reconstruction options, and the first one involves implants. Plastic surgeons also use breast reconstruction techniques that involve the use of a nearby muscle, which is then positioned to fill the space that’s left by a mastectomy.

In another method muscles from another area of the body is detached from its current location, along with a segment of fat and skin, and reattached to the empty breast cavity.

“It’s something I had decided before I was diagnosed,” says Hopper. “I was talking to some friends and we decided that if we were faced breast cancer, we would undergo double-mastectomies.”

“It’s become more common,” he says. “Women select to remove not only the breast with cancer, but the other as well.”