Famous proof that breast cancer is survivable

Nancy Reagan, Sandra Day O’Connor

Betty Ford’s openness about her breast cancer opened the door for a number of other high-profile women to speak out when they were diagnosed as well, including First Lady Nancy Reagan, Joan Kennedy, the former wife of U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman U.S. Supreme Court justice. O'Connor underwent a mastectomy in 1982 and returned to work six days later. Other survivors: Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security and Governor of Arizona. Ann Romney, wife of presidential candidate Mitt Romney, diagnosed with mammary ductal carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive type of the condition, underwent a lumpectomy.