12-year-old boy colours his hair to fundraise and help his mom conquer cancer

Twelve-year-old Nathan Smythe did something bold earlier in May by colouring his hair and fundraising to help his mom conquer cancer.

“My mom was diagnosed with leukemia when I was just a few days old,” said Smythe. “Right now, she has esophageal cancer and I want to give back to the cancer community.”

Throughout the month of May, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is asking Canadians to be bold and colour their hair to conquer cancer.

“The idea is people register at colourtoconquer.ca and encourage their friends, families, and their colleagues to support them in raising money and awareness to help support one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world – which is The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre here in Canada,” said Michael Burns, president and CEO of The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

Last year Smythe raised just over $1,000 by donating his paper-route money along with some on-line donations. This year Smythe is hoping to exceed that.

“I’m wanting to raise $2,000 for my school team,” said Smythe. “My personal goal is $5,000 and I have a few people on my baseball team helping with that and some people donating online.”

“To watch what Nathan has done this year is extraordinary,” said Burns.

“My mom always says, “Nathan, you’re making a big difference in this world.”

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“To see what Nathan has done for his mother, really I think, brings home the message,” said Burns.

“We want to conquer cancer in our lifetime,” said Smythe.