Jennifer Salter, MSW

I vividly remember the day, 4½ years ago, when my best friend learned she had breast cancer. It seemed completely unbelievable—she was only 36 and still nursing her 7-month-old baby! The subsequent weeks and months were a labyrinth of doctors’ visits, tests, treatment decisions, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and ongoing drug therapies to prevent recurrence. I had heard much about breast cancer, but watching someone close to me undergo aggressive cancer treatment made me wonder if anything could be done to mitigate the challenging side effects.