BY NICK KREWEN
The founder of Skate4Cancer has evolved his vision. Rob Dyer, the 27-year-old Newmarket, Ontario native who has
skateboarded across the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and parts of Australia to
raise awareness about cancer, has a new goal in mind: the Dream Love Cure
Centre (http://dreamlovecure.org/).
“It’s basically going to be a support centre for kids who
are going through cancer, or kids who have been impacted directly or indirectly
by the disease,” Dyer told Samaritanmag. “There aren’t a lot of places available for kids to go and
talk and share their emotions and stories, especially on the counseling side of
things.
“When you lose someone to cancer, I find that there’s not
really many places for you to turn, because it’s a life-changing experience.
And if you don’t have a place that’s non-judgmental, it can be really hard on
kids.”
Dyer knows from personal experience: within a year, he lost
his mom, Wendy, his grandparents and his best friend Matt McInnes to the
disease.
And he’s not alone: according to stats published on the
Canadian Cancer Society website,
an estimated 1 in 4 Canadians are expected to die from cancer, with an
estimated 173,800 new cases being diagnosed every week.
Dyer’s loss occurred eight years ago, and he admits he
fought depression, crediting his friends with bringing him out of his funk and keeping
him positive.