A new survey has found that one in three British women would be willing to have both breasts removed if they thought they were at high risk of breast cancer.
According to a six-country survey, women in Britain are more worried about breast cancer than in many other countries.
The news comes just ahead of the start of trials of a daily pill to be taken by healthy women in the hope of preventing breast cancer.
Among the 1,565 questioned in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy and the UK, one in five women said they would consider having a double mastectomy, to prevent breast cancer if they were at high risk.
The research was commissioned by Cancer Research UK, who say that nearly half of all the women said they were worried about breast cancer, but that figure rose to 60% in the UK.
The research says the charity highlights the need for preventive measures that women can take to reduce their risk and reassure themselves.
Cancer Research UK is funding a large trial of a drug called anastrozole, which is already being used to treat women with breast cancer, but which scientists think could also prevent it.
Jack Cuzick, lead scientist for Cancer Research, in what is being called the Ibis-II trial (International Breast Cancer Intervention Study), said it was important for those who are known to be at higher risk because of a family history of the disease to come forward to participate in the trial, as it could provide them with a valuable option in helping to control breast cancer.
Cuzick says in the future, it is possible that a simple medication could reduce the occurrence of breast cancer. He says the trial has the potential to change their lives.
More than 30,000 women past the menopause develop breast cancer in the UK every year.
Some of those will have known or suspected for a long time that they run a higher than normal risk of developing it, and for those with a strong family history of the disease, who sometimes have their susceptibility confirmed by genetic tests, there is little they can do beyond undergoing regular screening - or having their breasts removed.