PICKERING — Before he was even born, Nathan Smyth’s battle to heal cancer began when his mother was diagnosed with leukemia. By the time he was 10 days old, she was receiving treatment at The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Though his mother survived, she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer this past December.
Now, at age of 12, Smyth is an avid cancer advocate who has gone on to raise money for the cause, including a $1,000.35 donation after participating in Colour to Conquer. He raised the money with the help of his school and by donating the money he earned from doing his paper route.
“We made a page and people could donate online with a little help from my school,” says Smyth.
Smyth is participating in Colour To Conquer for the second time this year, adding it was his mother who encouraged him after seeing the campaign on Facebook.
“Last year, I was wanting to dye my hair and my mom had found colour to conquer on Facebook, so she said ‘Nathan do you want to sign up for this?’ and I said sure," says Smyth.
Colour to Conquer is an initiative that urges people of all ages to dye their hair bold colours for the month of May to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. This year, Smyth is hoping to raise even more this year with help of his class at Maple Ridge Public School in Pickering.
“I did a vote a while ago in my class and they chose purple and pink,” he says, which are exactly the set of colours he dyed his hair. “I would like to give a shout out to my hair salon who donated my hair dye, Iconz in Pickering.”
Smyth says he's aiming to double the amount he earned last year with the help of his school and has a "personal goal" of $5,000.
His efforts have even inspired some members of his baseball team, the Pickering Red Sox, to join the cause.
“Some people on my team wanted to support me by dyeing their hair,” says Smyth. “Some did permanent and some did temporary and they’re asking their friends to donate.”
Smyth’s father, Jeff, says he’s pleased with the personal growth his son has achieved through his campaign experience and encourages others to get involved.
“It’s helped him discover his own voice through his cancer story in our family. It’s been encouraging to watch him gain confidence through this process,” he says. “For those people who don’t have a lot of hair like me, this is still a great way to get involved by supporting someone else or use some temporary hair (dye). It’s only one time a year so you can go back to normal hair colours after that.”
Over 200 cities across Canada participated in the inaugural campaign last year and Smyth says he hopes more people will join the cause this year and get colourful.
“It gives an immediate reaction and it’s doing a fun thing for a serious cause,” he says. “I want to encourage people to get involved.”
Anyone interested in donating can see Smyth's donation page.
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