About the Connecticut Challenge

The Connecticut Challenge was founded in 2005 by Jeff Keith and John Ragland, to create the first of its kind survivorship clinic in the State of Connecticut. 

Jeff Keith is a pediatric cancer survivor, athlete, and long-time fundraiser for cancer research. John Ragland is a serious cyclist and business entrepreneur.  

In January 2005, Jeff visited the David B. Perini Quality of Life Clinic at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where doctors, nurses and aggressive chemotherapy treatments saved his life 35 years ago. The Perini Clinic is a specialized clinic for survivors of childhood cancer, a unique and progressive concept when it opened in 1993. After an extensive examination and multiple visits, Jeff left the clinic smarter about the long-term effects of his cancer treatments and was determined that survivors in Connecticut should have access to the same quality of care without leaving the state. 

Jeff Keith and John Ragland chose to partner with the Yale Cancer Center, with a proposal to jointly develop a survivorship clinic, which the Connecticut Challenge would help to subsidize with the proceeds from a charity bike ride.

The Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Clinic at Yale Cancer Center became a reality in 2006, opening its doors each week to welcome cancer survivors. The concept of a survivorship clinic was new and patients had little idea what to expect from their visit to the clinic, but their motivations were strikingly similar. They had come through their diagnosis and treatment under the careful, watchful eye of skilled doctors and nurses, but in the post-treatment phase, they were left with little information about what to expect next and trying to piece together their own care plan.

“After you’re done with treatment and your operation, people ask, ‘so, why aren’t you back to normal?’ Well, the people at the clinic are telling me, ‘well, you’re not.’  Coming to this place is helping me to go on in a ‘cancer normal’ life. They are telling me what to expect, my limitations, how I can improve myself and how I can become a healthy person again.”    - Audrey, Eastchester, NY

Shortly after the adult clinic opened, the Connecticut Challenge began supporting the state’s first clinic for survivors of childhood cancers, the HEROS Clinic (Health, Education, Research, Outcomes, Survivors), also at Yale Cancer Center.

   
“The HEROS Clinic was a light in the dark.  Once they helped me understand my risks – and more importantly, what I could do to mitigate them – I felt empowered. It was such a relief to finally have someplace to turn with my questions.”    - Kelly, Naugatuck, CT

Much of cancer survivorship care is about empowering people to take control of their lives and their health back from a horrible disease.  The Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Clinic and the HEROS Clinic have helped hundreds of cancer survivors to understand the many challenges they face, or may face, and to chart a healthy course forward.

However, "hundreds" does not begin to reach the number of survivors who could benefit from access to comprehensive survivorship care. The number of survivors in Connecticut is estimated at 120,000 and growing.

To address the needs of this vastly greater audience, in May of 2009 the Connecticut Challenge launched a new initiative, the Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Network, working in partnership with hospitals and community organizations across the state to ensure that survivors across Connecticut have access to comprehensive survivorship programs within their local communities.  

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