In September 1974 First Lady Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery. She “broke with social conventions by fostering public discussion of her diagnosis and treatment.” Her openness “helped bring the disease into the open and inspired countless women to seek breast examinations.”
On April 11, 1978, after a family intervention, she entered a Navy hospital “for treatment of addiction to alcohol and prescription medication.” In 1982 the Betty Ford Center, which she co-founded, opened in Rancho Mirage, California. She greeted new patients: “Hello, my name’s Betty Ford, and I’m an alcoholic and drug addict.”