The day before Mariel Berrios-Riebe received her first chemotherapy treatment, she didn’t know what to expect of the therapy, or even what questions to ask. The Stafford, Va., mother of three was already juggling kids, her own business, another business with her husband and volunteering — where would breast cancer fit in? She didn’t know any other women who had battled the disease.

That changed with one phone call. That evening before the first day of chemo, Berrios-Riebe heard from Maimah Karmo, president and founder of the Tigerlily Foundation, a breast cancer support and education organization in Reston.