Canada

Canada’s East Coast music community will gather Sunday April 7 at an all-day benefit concert celebrating the memory of Matt Mays guitarist Jay Smith, with proceeds going to a trust fund for his children. A second concert the following day — with details forthcoming — is also planned.

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.

On Sunday, June 19, more than a dozen cities across Canada will host the Father’s Day Walk/Run for Prostate Cancer Canada (PCC). This high-profile event is the second largest awareness-and-fundraiser surrounding the disease in eight months, following a successful worldwide moustache-growing Movember campaign that raised over $21 million towards prostate cancer research and support programs in Canada alone.

Although prostate cancer is the most prevalent form of the disease among Canadian men  — an estimated 24,600 are diagnosed annually for a 1 in 6 ratio, with 4,300 lives eventually claimed — it’s a subject that has largely been relegated to the media shadows for far too many years.

Since 2009, however, a rejuvenated and rebranded Prostate Canada Canada has concentrated its efforts in expanding knowledge and awareness of this insidious disease, especially since it’s estimated that 250,000 Canadian men may actually be afflicted.

Prostate Cancer Canada president and CEO Steve Jones feels the tide to get the word out there and encourage men to visit their doctor for check-ups and tests is changing. “The fact is, when we started this reincarnation of this foundation about two-and-a-half years ago, what we saw was that prostate cancer was really on the back burner,” Jones explains.

As Japan continues to pinball between almost incomprehensible disasters, the world is stepping up to help. And Canada is no exception.

In addition to the federal government — which has pledged an array of expertise and technical assistance as well as the Canadian Forces — homegrown humanitarian and relief agencies are in high gear, deploying teams, fundraising and otherwise assisting in any way possible.

“We have made our complete resources available,” John Saunders, director of disaster management in Ontario with the Canadian Red Cross, tells Samaritanmag.  “Internationally, we have two mobile field hospitals that are complete surgical units that can be deployed on request from the Japanese Red Cross. And we’re basically on standby at this point for any human or material resources they may require.

“The Japanese Red Cross is a very robust emergency management program with over one million volunteers trained in disaster response,” Saunders continues. “They also have over 50,000 individuals trained to assist in emergency medical teams — so doctors, nurses and medics who are specifically able to be deployed for emergency medical help. All those resources are being engaged.

“Once those resources are exhausted, that’s when the international teams would step up to supplement the strong existing Japanese team. Right now, we are financially assisting them in the costs of relief programs such as bottled water to the millions without it, sheltering operations and medical assistance.”