We’ve Walked in Your Shoes
We are proud to offer the melanoma community our one-of-a-kind peer-to-peer support program, Peer Connect. Peer Connect is a free service provided by AIM at Melanoma Foundation that matches melanoma survivors and caregivers with other survivors and caregivers in need of peer support. Connections are available for anyone at any point in their melanoma experience—from newly diagnosed, to in treatment, to post-treatment, to NED (No Evidence of Disease).
Become A Mentor
As a survivor or caregiver, you know better than anyone else what it is like to go through treatment, how to deal with side effects, and how to manage all the emotions—highs and lows—that come with a melanoma diagnosis. Share your experience and expertise by volunteering as a Peer Connect mentor to another survivor or caregiver. To become a volunteer peer mentor, you must have completed your melanoma treatment at least six months prior to participation.
Request a Mentor
If you have recently been diagnosed with melanoma, you may be experiencing a wide range of feelings and emotions. Our goal is to provide support to help ease the anxieties, stresses, and fears that may arise during your melanoma journey.
In this program, you are matched with a trained, volunteer peer mentor who has “walked in your shoes” as a melanoma patient — ideally, someone who was diagnosed with the same stage of melanoma. The peer mentor provides one-on-one support, a listening ear, and guidance in a safe, nonjudgmental, and confidential environment.
Your Peer Mentor Will:
- Help you explore new strategies for coping and thriving
- Offer non-medical advice and tips
- Increase your knowledge of information and available resources
- Identify tools and tactics you can use throughout your journey
Your Peer Connection
After your consultation with the program administrator and completion of your request form, you will be matched with a volunteer peer mentor. You will be introduced to one another and provided guidance on topics to explore and how you may wish to communicate. Together, you and your peer volunteer mentor can choose how often you wish to connect and what method will work best for you both – by phone, in person, virtually, via email or text message – or any combination of these methods.
Meet Some Of Our Mentors
Munaf: “Being part of LGBTQ+ community, I think I can help family members or caregivers who are LGBTQ+.”
– Munaf, Peer Connect Mentor, Caregiver
Mark: “I remember the despair and fear I felt soon after diagnosis and would like to offer hope and encouragement to those who have been newly diagnosed.”
– Mark, Peer Connect Mentor, Stage III Melanoma Survivor
Read about Mark’s Journey with Melanoma HERE.
As a three-time survivor of Stage IIIc melanoma, I’d love to be considered to provide support to others going through the same journey. I think it helps sometimes to speak to people who have been through the same thing and get another perspective.”
– Joanne, Peer Connect Mentor, Stage IIIc Melanoma Survivor
“Battling cancer of any kind is not easy. Everyone needs a little help, input, or just somebody who listens. I wish I would have had more people, other than just friends and family, to talk to or just listen while I made my fight through the cancer battle over the course of four years.”
– Steve, Peer Connect Mentor, Stage IV Melanoma Survivor
“I think that I would be a good mentor because I had cancer when I was young, and I think my experience is relatable to kids in the same situation. I love talking to kids and helping people around me as much as I can. I think that knowing someone who has gone through the same thing helps with their confidence (which is so important). The main thing I remember about going through chemo was my friends and family being supportive and not treating me any differently. It would have been nice to have had a role model of sorts, so that is what I would like to do.”
– Cate, Peer Connect Mentor, Pediatric Melanoma Survivor
“Being told you have cancer is perhaps one of the most frightening things you will ever hear. For me, even though I was surrounded by loved ones I felt scared and totally alone. I found the most comfort by reading about people going through what I was going through. I searched out blogs and tried to find support groups (which was difficult because I was diagnosed during Covid). I think having a mentor or peer to turn to would have been incredible. I want to be that person for someone – to offer perspective and let them know they are not alone in their journey. Every person’s journey is unique but having someone who has faced many of the same challenges and come out the other side (oftentimes with a renewed appreciation of life) can really make a difference. That is why I want to be a part of this program.”
– Ann Marie, Peer Connect Mentor, Stage II Melanoma Survivor
Ready To Get Started?
Request Peer Support or
Become a Peer Connect Mentor
You can request peer support or become a peer support mentor by using our online questionnaire below. Please allow at least 10 minutes to complete it, and once you start answering the questions, continue to the end. (The form doesn’t allow for returning later to finish or make changes.) If you need to make changes or additions after submitting the questionnaire, there is a link to contact us directly.
Important note: Please do not fill out this form on behalf of anyone else without their explicit permission to do so. Thank you.