 Current focus on mutual or dyadic coping with cancer diagnosis and treatment stems from the understanding that caregivers and patients work individually, but also together to manage their shared stress and to make meaning out of their mutual experience. Because of this, mutuality and interdependence in dyadic coping extend beyond social support. Dyads collaborate, negotiate, and problem-solve to jointly manage stress and make decisions related to a diagnosis such as cancer. However, there has been little systematic inquiry into the dynamics of shared role adjustment in the cancer family caregiving dyad even though the stress of chronic illness appears to affect both the patient and the caregiver s well-being. The social experience of managing an illness such as cancer and the adjustments made to accommodate the new life situation are the first steps in what is often a prolonged disease trajectory that will require many other changes and transitions along the way. 