“When I was having chemo, I used to imagine the warrior chemo drugs doing battle with the cancer cells, and gradually pushing them out of my breast. Week by week, the chemo gained ground, and gradually destroyed all the cancer cells.”

Beth is a friend of mine, a 4-year survivor of inflammatory breast cancer. Diagnosed at age 37, doctors told her she had a 50/50 chance of survival. Unmarried, far from home, with a new job in an unfamiliar part of the country – Beth faced cancer on her own,...