Brave Ideas for Social Change

Brave Ideas for Social Change


Expanding Awareness of Mental Health Care for Cancer

October 30, 2025

Breast cancer survivor Diane M. Simard is a member of GSSW’s newly established Board of Advisors and a friend to the University of Denver. She has been working to raise awareness about the unique mental health needs of cancer patients and to transform systems to better meet those needs. In 2016, she founded the Center for Oncology Psychology Excellence, or COPE, at the University of Denver Graduate School of Professional Psychology. COPE is now part of their behavioral health psychology curriculum. Diane has authored three books and helped to establish the Ray of Hope Colorado Cancer Foundation’s mental health support grant program.