mccc what is maggie_s

7/30/2019 MCCC What is Maggie_s

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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Maggies is about empowering people

to live with, through and beyond cancer

by bringing together professional help,

communities of support and building

design to create exceptional centres

for cancer care.


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Maggies Centres are for anyone affected by cancer. They are

places where people are welcome whenever they need us from

just bein g diagno sed, or undergoi ng treatmen t, to po st-treatmen t,

recurrence, end of life or in bereavement.

We also welcome family and friends, as they are often deeply

affected by cancer too. We know that those who love and look

after someone with cancer can feel just as frightened, vulnerable

and uncertain.

Our visitors tell us that the welcome they receive at Maggies iswhat they appreciate the most. Just walking through our doors

puts them at ease. This is a key part of our pioneering approach

that integrates professional help with a community of support in

thoughtfully designed centres, a combination which is proving

highly effective in alleviating the emotional distress and practical

difficulties that cancer brings. Everything we provide is free of

charge, so visitors can feel welcome to access our support for as

long as they need it.

EVERYONES

WELCOME

The diagnosis had been as

hard on my family as it was

for me... Seeing the suffering

of my husband, mother andteenage children affected

me physically.

Maggie Keswick Jencks


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

THE NEED FOR

MAGGIES

IS GROWING

Maggies has helped me so

much, its a place wherepeople r eally un derstand you.

Alan Andreson

A diagnosis of cancer is still one of the most traumatic experiences

anyone has to face. A key concern for us is the increasing number

of new diagnoses, approximately 298,000 each year a figure

predicted to rise by 30% by 2020. Most people will receive excellent

medical care, but their practical, emotional and psychological needs

require specialist support. Maggies Centres are places where those

who are newly diagnosed can access this kind of support.

Over two million people in the UK are living with cancer a figure

increasing by over 3% every year. With one in three people

expected to develop it over the course of their lives, cancer affects

almost every family in the country. We want to expand our network

of centres to provide support to every family who needs it.

Many more people are now surviving cancer, due to better

prevention and treatment, which is good news. However, this

significantly increasing population of people are living with cancer

as a chronic illness and experiencing all the challenges this brings.

At Maggies we want to ensure we can help them through the long

term effects for as long as they need us.


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Mike Charkows Story

I was working in Japan when I found a lump on my neck. I thought it was

a snowboarding injury but I was diagnosed with lymphoma, which was a huge

shock. I underwent treatment but about a year later the cancer returned.

It was incredibly isolating. I just felt this massive weight had been put

on me and there was no one to share it with. I remember going to Maggies,

where I was found a private room, and I broke down. It was many things:

frustration, fear and even panic. But that space was so precious at that

moment. From then on I went to Maggies every time I had an appointmentfor treatment.

After my second diagnosis I was undergoing a stem cell transplant, which

was fairly new and a big unknown. At Maggies I met Annu, who had been

through the same treatment the year previously, and I talked to her about

what happens and how it feels, which really took the fear of the unknown

out of it. Its one thing talking to doctors and specialists, but to meet

someone of a similar age whod been through the same experience was

profoundly important to me. I thought, yes, I can get through this.

For me Maggies represented a community, a place which was extraordinarily

welcoming and where I could just crash out. You didnt have to put on a

front, but could just be. I still call by to catch up with friends I made

there, which says it all.

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WHAT IS MAGGIES?


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Maggies Centres are places where people can drop-in when they

want and use as they wish. No appointment is required and every

visitor is welcomed by a cancer support specialist who will speak

with them immediately. We focus each centre around a kitchen table

and encouragepeople to talk over a cup of tea with staff and others

using the centre. Many of them tell us that coming to Maggies is

like being welcomed into a friends house.

Our centres are also places where we help people to find their own

way forward. We particularly focus on the common feelings of

helplessness, loss of control and isolation that many people affected

by cancer experience. Supporting people to work through these

challenging emotions can help them to face the other physical and

life changing consequences cancer can bring.

At our core is the idea of active participation. Helping each person

to feel a greater sense of control over what is happening and

building their confidence can be crucial to alleviating some of the

distress and despair they can experience when diagnosed or if their

cancer returns.

HOW WE

PROVIDE HELP

AND SUPPORT

Maggies provided me with

a refuge a sanctuary partof the real world but somehow

detached. The world hadnt

changed but cancer had totally

changed who I was and I

needed help to learn how to

live again.

Isobel Rutter


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Maggies communities

A unique characteristic of Maggies is the ownership and strong

sense of belonging that people feel for their local centre. The

special environments in our centres help communities of support

to naturally develop and people tell us they feel safe at Maggies

and able to discuss difficult thoughts and feelings. Sharing these

feelings with others affected by cancer helps them to feel less

isolated and distressed.

Bringing people together, so they can draw strength from sharing

experiences and knowledge, can be very empowering and we know

that the camaraderie, understanding and reassurance that people

at Maggies offer to one another is an important and powerful

aspect of what makes us so effective.

We also have a thriving online community where anyone affected

by cancer, anywhere in the world, can access many aspects of the

professional support we offer in our physical centres, including

opportunities to link with our specialists and connect with others

through our online support groups.

You can find out more about our full programme of support at

www.maggiescentres.org

I talk about things within the

group that I would never talk

about with my family and

friends. The chance to bounce

off people is so valuable and

helpful, especially when I was

experiencing side effects from

radiotherapy.

Ian McFarlane

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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Our programme of support

Weve designed our support to help people at any stage of any

cancer and focused it around four key areas identified as the most

important by people affected by cancer:

Comprehensive information on their particular cancer and help to

build their understanding of this information.

Emotional and psychological supportto address the range of

emotions, including severe distress, anxiety, depression, helplessness

and uncertainty, that cancer can evoke.

Stress and distress managementto help people with their diagnosis,

ease the difficulties of treatment, and manage the ongoing impact

of cancer on relationships, activities and personal abilities.

Support to make choices to live differentlyto improve mental and

physical well-being and find ways to live with, through and beyond

cancer, including exercise and healthy eating.

At each Maggies Centre our experienced cancer nurses, clinical

psychologists, specialist therapists, nutritionists and benefits advisers

offer support on an individual basis or through a varied range of

group activities. People can access any aspect of our programme,

from timetabled courses, workshops and group sessions, to one-to-

one support, as and when they need it.

The emotional trauma can be

just as difficult as the p hysical

affects. For our cancer patients

what Maggies does is vital.

Professor Bob Leonard,

Clinical Director, Cancer

Services, Imperial College

Healthcare NHS Trust


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

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Dr Noelle ORourkes Story

My story is unusual in that I knew about Maggies Centres, and was working

with them as an oncologist, before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So

I was already aware of what Maggies provided and how special it was.

While I had huge support at the hospital from friends and colleagues, it

remained a scary and unnerving experience, particularly as I was suddenly

on the other side. There is the sense that youve become an object,

something that things happen to. I was in my place of work and yet I

wasnt myself, I was a patient and it was unnerving. What Maggies gave

me was the ability to walk through their front door and feel that it was

me again - I regained my identity.

When I was diagnosed my children were aged 13, 11 and eight, and one of

the really upsetting things for me was the thought of what would happen

to them. While my family were incredibly helpful in providing me with a

focus to stay positive, I needed Maggies for support along the way. I

went to relaxation therapy and the look good feel better programme, but

probably the most important thing was simply sitting around drinking

coffee and chatting, during which I learned more about how people cope

with cancer treatment than in 20 years as a doctor.


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Maggies centres blend visionary architecture with warm, homely

spaces, which inspire people to come in and feel comfortable

as they seek out our support. Although each of our centres is

distinctive and different, they all have intriguing, welcoming

interiors that subtly relieve distress and build confidence. People

tell us our centres uniqueness makes them feel valued, which in

turn, helps them to relax, talk about their fears and concerns, and

connect with the community of support that every Maggies offers.

The unusual designs are also an antidote to the often impersonal

hospital environment where people can feel inhibited and

processed. Our centres open plan spaces encourage people to

explore, while thoughtful details, from the help-yourself biscuit tins

and comforting cushions to arresting art on the walls, puts people

at ease and can inspire them to approach things differently.

Some of the worlds leading architects have contributed their

creativity to developing our centres because they knew and loved

Maggie Keswick Jencks. Together we have worked to create

exceptional centres which offer healing potential through their

design and amplify the effectiveness of our support.

You can find out more on all our centres at www.maggiescentres.org

CREATING

EXCEPTIONAL

CANCER

CARING

CENTRES

I just felt the building

enveloped me in love...

its bright, its light and the

first thing you do is smile.

Trudy McLeay


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Each one of our centres is based close to a hospital cancer treatment

centre where we have been invited by the local NHS team to bring

our distinctive type of care to their patients. This means our support

is available at the most convenient location for our visitors. They can

drop-in before or after an appointment or treatment session and

relax in the welcome sanctuary our centres provide.

We know that hospital staff have only limited time to spend with

their patients, so in our centres people can take as much time as

they need and visit as often as they want to. No appointments are

necessary and our centres are freely accessible for anyone at any time.

Our support also helps people to get the best out of their medical

treatment by building their confidence about communicating with

their medical team. Our focus on working through each persons

individual questions and concerns, and provision of tailored

psychological support, can decrease anxieties about treatment,

surgery and talking with medical professionals.

HERE TO

COMPLEMENT

MEDICAL CARE

Maggies complements what

the hospital does but it is also

very different. The hospital

focus is very much on tasks,

whereas Maggies is about

starting from the point of v iew

of the patient and responding

to their situation.

Dr John Wilson,

Consultant Physician and

Gastroenterologist,

Victoria Hospital, NHS Fife


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

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Gordon Kirks Story

I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at about the time my wife Lesley

and I had our first child, Ava. It was strange, as I had this little

bundle of life on the one hand - a fantastic gift - and on the other a

life threatening illness. I had lost a grandfather, three uncles and an

aunt to cancer, and so it was genuinely frightening.

When I first went to Maggies I was feeling very vulnerable, being so

dependent and aware of my wifes burden. Before going through the door I

remember walking around thinking what am I doing here, what do I want to

know, what will they tell me? Then as soon as I entered it was a

different world, a calm world. From that day on I felt an affinity with

the place, that there were people who would understand.

Maggies allowed me time to pause and reflect, and not be frightened of

doing so. Not only the resident psychologist, but also other users at the

centre like Bruce, were incredibly supportive. It was cathartic. You share

the highs and the lows and how to deal with them; it brings you back from

a dark place. And it allows you to see the lighter side of life and get

it into perspective.

WHAT IS MAGGIES?


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WHAT IS MAGGIES?

Our community of supporters, across the UK and beyond, have

made it possible to provide help to many people via our existing

network of centres. But we want to ensure that every person

affected by cancer in the UK has access to a Maggies and you

could help us make this a reality.

If you would like to support us there are lots of ways to do so.

By making a donation or taking part in an event you could help us

build our network, so that we can reach more people in more places

and make sure no one faces cancer alone.

Find out how to get involved or talk about how you would like to

help by contacting us on 0300 123 1801 or visit our website at


YOU MAKE

MAGGIES

A REALITY

Maggies has given me so

much. I feel passionately

that more centres must be

built to take this support out

to others who need it.

Elaine Davidson

WHAT IS MAGGIES?


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WHAT IS MAGGIE S?

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Mark Haskins Story

I was diagnosed with bowel cancer and had been through a period of

treatment that was in many ways surreal: in less than two months I had

seven or eight different scans, chemo and radiotherapy and two separate

operations. Then suddenly I was back home again wondering whether it had

really happened.

Looking back I dont think I had really accepted what had happened and

was in denial, so it was a matter of coming to terms with reality and my

condition. What helped me was having three families, my own, the Ynys

Maedw football team and Maggies, particularly because none of them

treated me differently.

At Maggies I discovered a real community, a place where my worries could

be left at the door. It has been a tremendous support. Being around people

who had different forms of cancer, or who were recovering from it, opened

my eyes and made me feel less alone. People may say that they know what

youre going through but they really dont grasp it. At Maggies I didnt

have to explain myself or what was happening, I was just accepted for

myself and treated like a warm friend.

For such a small building it holds so much love.

WHAT IS MAGGIES?


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A diagnosis of cancer hits you like a punch in the stomach. This is

how Maggie Keswick Jencks (right), our founder (with her husband,

Charles Jencks) described her own diagnosis of breast cancer. It was

during her last 18 months of life, when the cancer had returned,

that she developed a vision for a cancer caring centre that could

make the experience of diagnosis and treatment easier to bear.

As a writer, landscape designer, painter and mother of two,

Maggies vision was influenced by all of her interests. She wanted

a place that offered healing potential through its design, where

people could meet and share with others in similar circumstances.She felt strongly that people could feel better by becoming active

participants and taking greater control over what was happening

to them, and to do this they needed access to expert advice,

information and psychological support.

With the help of her medical team at the Western General Hospital,

Edinburgh, Maggie created a blueprint for her pioneering centre,

adapting a stable block in the hospital grounds. In 1996, a year

after her death, it became the first Maggies Centre.

WHO WAS

MAGGIE?

Above all what matters is

to not lose the joy of living

in the fear of dying.

Maggie Keswick Jencks


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OUR CENTRES

Maggies Edinburgh

Maggies Glasgow (Gatehouse)

Maggies Dundee

Maggies Highlands

Maggies Fife

Maggies London

Maggies Cheltenham

Maggies Lanarkshire

Maggies Oxford

Maggies South West Wales

Maggies Online

CENTRES IN DEVELOPMENTMaggies Glasgow (Gartnavel)

Maggies Nottingham

Maggies North East

Maggies Aberdeen

Maggies Hong Kong

T: +44 (0)300 123 1801


Open Centre

Interim Centre

In Development

15 at 15 : Maggies is 15 this year

and were celebrating our growth

to 15 centres across the UK.

Centre user photos: Mary McCartney

Centre user stories: Matthew Barnett

Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust

(Maggies) is a registered charity, No. SC024414

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