When Jennifer Taylor, 41, was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2025, her best friend of nearly four decades was by her side as she began treatment at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Taylor and Adrien Finkel, also 41, have been best friends since they were 2 years old. They grew up together, navigated their teenage years and careers side by side, and have been there for each other through every stage of life, including Taylor’s marriage and the birth of her daughter. Now, throughout Taylor’s treatment for stage 2 triple-positive breast cancer, Finkel has joined her for appointments, treatment days, and everything in between.

For Taylor, Finkel has provided a unique kind of support. Taylor has been there for Finkel as well. When Finkel had her first mammogram this year, Taylor was right there with her.

“When I was first diagnosed, my husband wanted to go to my appointments with me. But it didn’t feel right,” said Taylor. “Your caretaker doesn’t have to be your romantic partner. Going through something like this that is so intimate—doing it with your best girlfriend takes the edge off and makes me feel comfortable. Adrien is my person.”

Taylor first noticed a lump in her upper left breast in May 2025 and scheduled an appointment to have it evaluated. After a mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage 2 triple-positive breast cancer, a form of breast cancer that had not spread to distant parts of her body. She began treatment at Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Her treatment included 12 weeks of chemotherapy, then a double mastectomy in December 2025 followed by radiation. She is now receiving additional chemotherapy with the medicine Enhertu, which she is expected to continue through December 2026. She also underwent medically induced menopause to lower estrogen levels in her body, since her cancer can grow in response to the hormone.

“Putting a young person through menopause comes with serious side effects,” said Ruth Oratz, MD, Taylor’s medical oncologist at Perlmutter Cancer Center. “This is an aspect of cancer care that isn’t talked about enough. There has been a lot of momentum in this field, with new medications and treatments becoming available that can reduce symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life.”

Taylor said her care team at Perlmutter Cancer Center has also been an important source of support. One person who has made a particularly lasting impression is Bianca Cassar, RN.

“Bianca has taken care of me medically, obviously, but she has also made me feel safe, known, and human,” said Taylor. “She knows when I’m anxious before I even say it. She celebrates the good scans and milestones. She has answered a million questions and taken care of me on days when I was scared, exhausted, or just completely over all of it. There is something extraordinary about having someone who can be incredibly competent medically and also make you feel like you are being cared for by a friend.”

On treatment days at Perlmutter Cancer Center, Taylor and Finkel created a routine to bring some levity to the experience. They order food, bring arts and crafts projects, and spend the hours of treatment together. Over time, their friendship has fostered a sense of community among the staff, fellow patients, and visitors around them.

“Each person diagnosed with cancer brings their unique story and life experience,” said Dr. Oratz. “It is essential that we, the doctors and nurses on their oncology team, acknowledge and support them personally and emotionally as well as clinically. Jen and Adrien’s energy, openness, and warmth spread to the whole NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center team—and beyond.”

Early on in Taylor’s treatment, one of the hardest parts was telling the people in her life that she had cancer. Finkel suggested documenting the experience, allowing Taylor to give updates without repeating the same difficult conversations. So they created a shared Instagram account, @jenandadrien.

What began as a way to keep loved ones informed soon grew into an online community for people navigating breast cancer.

“When you get diagnosed with cancer, you have a million questions,” said Taylor. “We’ve created this space online where people can peel back the curtain and see what having cancer is really like. It shows the difficult parts, but also that friendship, laughter, food, girlhood, and joy can exist alongside it.”

For Taylor and Finkel, sharing the experience has become another way to remind others that cancer does not erase the rest of a person’s life. Even during treatment at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, there is room for friendship, community, and joy.

Watch and read the story on CBS News and in People.

About NYU Langone Health

NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 122 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation five years in a row, and it continues to have the most No. 1– and top 10–ranked specialties among medical centers in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 400 outpatient locations in the New York City area and Florida. The system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.

Media Contact

Casey Nicholl
Phone: 646-983-4920
Casey.Nicholl@NYULangone.org