Ever passed Nottingham City Hospital and wondered what the unusual green building is that appears to almost float amongst the trees?
In May 1993, Maggie Keswick Jencks was told that her breast cancer had returned and was given two to three months to live.
She joined an advanced chemotherapy trial and lived for another 18 months. During that time, she and her husband Charles Jencks worked closely with her medical team, which included oncology nurse, Laura Lee, now Maggie’s Chief Executive, to develop a new approach to cancer care.
In order to live more positively with cancer, Maggie and Charles believed you needed information that would allow you to be an informed participant in your medical treatment, stress-reducing strategies, psychological support and the opportunity to meet other people in similar circumstances in a relaxed domestic atmosphere.
Maggie was determined that people should not “lose the joy of living in the fear of dying” and the day before she died in June 1995, she sat in her garden, face to the sun and said: “Aren’t we lucky?”
In November 1996, the first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh and what Maggie had planned became real, since then Maggie’s has continued to grow, with 17 Centres at major NHS cancer hospitals in the UK, online and abroad. Built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals, Maggie’s Centre is designed to be a warm and welcoming place, where qualified professionals are on hand to offer a programme of support to help people find their way through cancer.
An uplifting environment can reduce stress and anxiety so each of the Centres is designed to feel like a home-from-home with a big kitchen table at the heart. Great design and architecture is vital to the care and support Maggie’s offer so they work with renowned architects whose expertise and experience deliver the calm surroundings that are so important to the people who visit and work in the Centres.
The green building is sheltered from the main Nottingham City Hospital, the landscape around Maggie’s Nottingham was designed by London-based practise Envert Studio, who focused on scent and texture when choosing the type of plants to use. They created a secluded and uplifting area which visitors can enjoy either from ground level, or from one of the several outdoor balcony spaces of the Centre itself. The building has a sense of symmetry and shape creating a sense of space and balance, it also has the most distinctive inside of any Maggie’s, with illustrious designer Sir Paul Smith, himself a famous son of Nottingham, designing the eclectic and beautiful interior. Colourful prints meet classic design and furniture, and every room has a different feel and atmosphere.
The groundbreaking model of cancer support pioneered by Maggie’s meets the practical, emotional and social needs of people with cancer. With new diagnoses rising by 3% each year, there is a growing need for Maggie’s. The Centres are places to find practical advice about benefits and eating well; places where qualified experts provide emotional support; places to meet other people; places where you can simply sit quietly with a cup of tea.
Maggie’s relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and the money they raise is thanks to wonderful supporters from charitable trusts and individuals, to the valued local communities around each of the Centres. Thanks to the huge generosity of supporters they raised more than £15.5 million in 2014 which enabled them to build new Centres and invest further in their programme of support.
You can make a donation of any amount at any time – either as a one-off or a regular payment. You can also join one of the many fundraising events that they organise each year or create your own event or volunteer and help make Maggie’s events happen.
This year I will be taking part in Maggie’s Culture Crawl on Friday 16 September 2016, discovering cultural, architectural and artistic delights in Nottingham, whilst raising as much as I can to support people with cancer and their families and friends.
You can sponsor me on the link below:
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Tanya-Raybould
If you have a question about Maggies you can call on 0300 123 1801 email enquiries@maggiescentres.org or visit the website https://www.maggiescentres.org/
By Tanya Raybould
Editor
@tanyalouiseray
