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Many who have the misfortune of winding up on the notorious “Strip” in Surrey owe their lives to Douglas Nickerson.

They call him “Little Doug” and recognize him by his cruiser bicycle painted with flames which, before his cancer diagnosis, he would pedal up and down 135A Street to respond to drug overdoses using his naloxone kit.

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Nickerson, 59, got the bad news in April. With his permission, Dr. Caroline Ferris confirmed by phone that he was diagnosed with untreatable pancreatic cancer and given six months to live.

His death will be devastating for the struggling community.

Photo by Jason Payne / PNG

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control calls Nickerson a “harm reduction hero” with good reason: Since an illicit-drug overdose crisis began sweeping through B.C., he’s reversed more than 130 overdoses, most due to fentanyl poisoning.

Nickerson said people remember how he saved their lives, such as “No. 7,” who recently spotted and thanked him. He never forgets the unique ones, like the couple who overdosed together.