Save Your Skin Foundation didn’t begin with a strategy or a vision statement. To Rosemary Westie, it started with family. 

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When her sister Kathy was diagnosed with melanoma, there were few treatment options, little information, and no clear path forward. Each appointment brought uncertainty, and every setback carried a quiet, relentless fear that settled into everyday life.

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“It’s not a one-day or one-year thing. There’s a cloud that follows people with cancer and their families.”

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Cancer didn’t just change Kathy’s life. It changed the rhythm of their entire family, shaping conversations, decisions, and the way they measured time. Like so many families facing a life-threatening diagnosis, they learned to live inside the unknown while doing everything they could to support one another.

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In those early days, there was no intention to start a foundation. Rose, a trail runner in North Vancouver, began talking openly within her running community about what her sister was going through. Those conversations sparked connection. People listened. They cared. And they wanted to help.

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In 2006, local race organizer Heather McDonald offered to donate proceeds from t-shirt sales to support Kathy. When Rose and Kathy met her at a pub in North Vancouver, Heather asked a few simple questions: What was the foundation called? Did it have a website?

They didn’t have either.

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That night, feeling overwhelmed by how quickly everything was unfolding, Rose went to Kathy’s home. Despite facing her own uncertain future, Kathy was already online, securing a domain name. Save Your Skin Foundation was born, not from a plan, but from a moment of resolve and a will to help people. 

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What followed grew naturally. Small fundraisers led to larger ones. Trail races became opportunities to raise awareness. Rose ran thousands of kilometres wearing her Save Your Skin jersey, carrying the message across Canada and beyond. Along the way, encounters with patients and families, especially those navigating illness far from home, reinforced why this work mattered.

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Through it all, family remained at the centre. Rose attended every appointment with Kathy, asking questions, advocating, and holding space when hope felt fragile. She believes that presence made a difference. Today, she sees that same advocacy reflected in Kathy’s work—, supporting patients who may not have family beside them.

Twenty years later, Save Your Skin has grown into a nationally respected, patient-led organization. But at its heart, it remains rooted in where it began:, a family, and a determination to make sure no one faces melanoma alone.