Yes, it will teach you more about the program, so you can make the most of each live meeting you go to. After the activity, you will have a full understanding of the program, how to participate, and what to expect at your first meeting.

We want to ensure that Color Cancer Connect is the right fit for you. Think of this survey as taking a snapshot of your current emotional state. It will let us know if other resources might be more helpful for you. If that’s the case, Color Cancer Connect staff will help you find the right referral.

The informational survey may take up to 20 minutes to complete. We recommend completing your survey without interruptions or distractions, in private, if possible. Please note you only need to answer these questions once before your program.

YES! Your answers are completely confidential. If we are concerned about your responses or feel that Color Cancer Connect might not be a good fit for you, we may reach out to you directly.

Most of your time in Color Cancer Connect meetings will be spent learning specific skills that you can use to support yourself as you’re navigating a difficult time. There will be times when you’ll have an opportunity to share, if you want. At Color Cancer Connect, we do our best to meet everyone where they are at. You are welcome to share as much or as little in your Color Cancer Connect group as you would like. We have a “Code of Conduct” that we expect participants to follow to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Our facilitators are trained to moderate difficult and emotional conversations and intervene with any type of inappropriate behavior or hurtful language. Our facilitators are also supervised by a psychologist who can provide additional support if needed.

If there are multiple meetings in one week, you can take as many meetings as you’d like, even if they are on different topics or different days. However, we recommend attending only one meeting per week. Our research and testimonials suggest that once weekly meetings are the most effective for learning and having adequate time for practicing skills.

Color Cancer Connect is meant to be a flexible program to “meet you where you’re at,” whether you have a time you are consistently available or not. This means that there is no designated order for you to complete the program. However, we recommend attending at a time that you are regularly available so you can get the benefits of the meeting content and connection with regular group members.

We recognize that life happens and you may miss meetings for a variety of reasons, so you are welcome to attend the other meetings or topics on those weeks. However, you may have to wait for the next opportunity to attend that specific topic. We encourage you to do your best to sign up for meetings based on your availability. If you need to cancel, you can “unregister” for the meeting by going to the bottom of your confirmation email. This will open up a spot for someone else!

Yes! Color Cancer Connect is meant to be a flexible option taken as a stand-alone or in conjunction with other care. If you are seeing a mental health care provider or someone who is prescribing medication, we suggest you mention your participation in the program, so they are aware.

Color Cancer Connect facilitators, or Leaders and Helpers, are individuals who previously completed the program as a participant. After participation, they are invited to complete an online training course on Color Cancer Connect protocol and program. This training includes role-playing assignments that are reviewed by a psychologist, and quizzes on content. After passing the online training, trainees first observe a Color Cancer Connect group for 8 weeks with an experienced facilitator, where they are given some opportunities to practice facilitating. After this full course as a “Helper,” they can begin facilitating as the main “Leader” for a group. Their training is ongoing at a weekly supervision meeting; there, they review how each meeting went that week with their supervisor (a psychologist).

Broadly, standardized manualized interventions, like Color Cancer Connect, are equally effective when run by professionals or peers. In fact, research suggests that working with peers provides additional benefits like feeling more understood, heard, and liked by their provider. Additionally, for people with experience with cancer (i.e., patients, survivors, and caregivers), there is a strong desire to connect with others in similar situations, like you will in Color Cancer Connect. These opportunities are limited in traditional psychotherapy settings.