An insurer once told surgeon Christine Horner that the female breast is “an organ with no function” to explain why they wouldn’t cover her 32-year-old cancer patient’s breast
reconstruction. You just said that to the wrong person, Horner thought, and started a national campaign to require insurance companies to pay for reconstruction after mastectomy.
“I knew nothing about the political process, so I asked someone at the state legislature for a crash course. I created a lobbying manual and got one plastic surgeon in each
state to spearhead the legislation.” Her five-year crusade led to the passage of breast-reconstruction laws in 35 states and a federal law, signed by President Clinton in 1998.

After her mother died from breast cancer, Horner searched the medical literature to find out how to prevent the disease. She found a tremendous amount of overlooked research showing that women can reduce their risk by eating the right foods, exercising, relaxing, sleeping well and using herbs. Her book, Waking the Warrior Goddess: Dr. Christine Horner’s Program to Protect Against and Fight Breast Cancer, recommends that women eat plant-based foods, whole grains, green tea, maitake mushrooms, garlic, turmeric and wakame seaweed. Horner has since left the grey skies of Cincinnati for the open vistas and desert reds of Taos, New Mexico, one of the healthiest cities in the country. “I love Taos,” she says. “Horses run wild behind my house. There are organic farms and art galleries everywhere.” It seems like the right kind of place for our kind of woman.