| When Nixon himself resigned in 1974, Betty Ford became the nation's First Lady. Shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. Suffering from the stress of her public role and the aftereffects of her illness, Ford became so hooked on painkilling drugs and alcohol that in 1978 she entered a California hospital to kick the habits. Inspired by the experience, in 1982 she founded the Betty Ford Center for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation in Rancho Mirage, California. |