After losing his wife to cancer, Toronto man creates charity wish foundation in her honour

A Toronto man wanted to honour his wife after she lost her battle with cancer in 2015, so he created a charity wish foundation in her honour.

“Mel inspired me long before she had cancer, she was always someone who wouldn’t settle,” said Rob Chalmers, Mélanie’s husband and co-founder of www.melaniesway.com. “She just packed in as much as she could while she could.”

Mélanie Chalmers lost her three-year battle with cancer on August 8, 2015.

As her husband was forced to move forward without her, what mattered most to him was not how she died but how she lived. Rob wanted to make sure the diagnosis she was given didn’t define her.

“I’m just grateful I had 13 years with her,” Rob said. “Now I feel lucky that I have a chance to help other people feel that.”

Mélanie’s Way is a charity started by family and friends in honour of the inspirational woman that did things on her terms and in her way.

“We’re committed to serving young women with metastatic or relapsed cancer,” Rob said. “The way we help people is we create wishes, shared experiences for them to have with their loved ones before they pass away.”

A total of 14 wishes have been granted since the charity started in 2015.

“It feels good to do good,” Rob said. “When I see one of our wish recipients with the sheer joy they have, that’s something really powerful.”