Researchers in 2013 made significant progress in the fight against breast cancer, ABC News reported

The focus for the rest of 2013 and beyond, according to Marc Hurbert, PhD, executive director of the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade, should turn to prevention.

"We've done a great job of increasing awareness of the disease, but prevention should be the goal for the next decade," Hurlbert told ABC news.

In ABC's list of the "nine biggest cancer breakthroughs" the first four focus on prevention - some more dramatic than others.

The first two relate to exercise and food. As we've seen with heart disease, exercise has been proven to reduce risk for breast cancer. A recent study from the University of Minnesota demonstrates not just why but how, according to ABC News.

"Exercise seems to change the way your body handles estrogen, which often fuels breast cancer," said study co-author Mindy Kurzer, PhD.

Choosing a diet rich in fruits and vegetables also decreases the risk of breast cancer, ABC News reports. In particular, berries reduce the chances of one strain that affects 70 percent of breast cancer sufferers.

"I recommend eating a cup of berries every day," said Harini Aiyer, PhD, a research scientist at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, to ABC News.

The third area of prevention is more specific, according to the ABC News report. Doctors, on the recommendations of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, can prescribe healthy, post-menopausal women who may be at risk for breast cancer a drug called exemestane - originally intended to treat current breast cancer victims. Studies have shown the drug reduces the risk of one type of breast cancer by over 70 percent.

The fourth breakthrough relating to prevention is similarly advanced. In 2013, researchers identified a positive correlation between women with high density breast tissue and their risk for cancer. Awareness of this fact is important, according to the report, because it not only forewarns high density women, but it gives doctors a better idea of which type of mammogram to use during testing. According to the report, women in the dense group should ask for a digital mammography.

The remaining five breakthroughs relate to more advanced testing methods and more effective treatments.