Keith Whyte, a Bengough, Sask., farmer who took his personal fight with cancer to the national stage, died April 23 in a hospital in Weyburn, Sask. Whyte was 64.
He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2006 and fought successfully for coverage of the drug Avastin. By the time that happened in January 2008, it was too late for him to benefit from the drug that works with chemotherapy to prolong patients’ lives.
He had sold land and borrowed money to pay for the treatment. Within six months, he was broke and could not afford it anymore but he took up the cause and fought for coverage for others.
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“(The then NDP government) told me we were fortunate to even have the drug in Saskatchewan,” Whyte told The Western Producer in July 2008. “They didn’t think little old farmer me would get enough media attention.”
He adopted the nickname Old Man Keimo, reaching out to cancer patients by performing with his karaoke machine and lobbying for better services.
He recently received the National Medal of Courage from the Canadian Cancer Society for his work.
In the Saskatchewan legislature, Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan paid tribute to his constituent by recalling their first meeting.
“Mr. Speaker, Keith Whyte was many things,” Duncan said. “He was a farmer. He was an unrelenting advocate, a storyteller, a constituent, and, Mr. Speaker, he was a friend.”
He noted that Whyte lived far longer than the four to six months he was initially given after his diagnosis and he used his time well.
