Women who are proven to have a high risk of developing breast cancer usually choose the double mastectomies as a protective measure against cancer's rebound, doctors said Tuesday. That’s exactly what actress Christina Applegate, 36, did in her case.

The preventive mastectomy is commonly called a prophylactic mastectomy.

During her first public appearance after her battle with cancer, the star told US breakfast

Show Good Morning America, she was "100% clear and clean" following the procedure. She also explained she carries the BRCA 1 gene mutation. Over a lifetime, BRCA 1 can increase the risk of the disease by as much as 85 percent. She said her choice of a prophylactic mastectomy was to pre-empt the possibility of developing breast cancer in the future. Nancy Priddy, Applegate’s mother, also survived breast cancer and helped support the film and TV star in fighting with the disease.

Applegate says she opted for a double mastectomy after learning of the genetic mutation. Only about 5% to 7% of breast cancers carry these mutations, says Mehra Golshan, director of breast surgical services at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The International Journal of Cancer presented some research studies according to which 18% of women with the mutations took this step. More than 50% of the women had their ovaries removed, which reduces the risk of both breast and ovarian cancers by removing the body's major source of estrogen.

During reconstructive surgery, doctors reconstruct a breast by taking skin from the stomach, buttock or back, and reconstruct the chest area over a saline implant.