THE first Maggie’s cancer caring centre opened its doors in Edinburgh 20 years ago – but it was the people of Glasgow who helped introduce the charity to the rest of the world.

Chief executive Laura Lee explains: “Opening our first Glasgow centre was massive for us – Edinburgh was the pilot, but there had been some scepticism about whether something that worked there could transfer easily to Glasgow.

“The people of Glasgow responded so quickly and so warmly. The question is always how can we make each centre personal to its community, and Glasgow really showed that we could do that. The city was the platform which helped us go from strength to strength.”

Through a high-profile campaign in the newspaper, Evening Times readers raised £1.2 million to build the first Glasgow Maggie’s Centre at the Western Infirmary in 2002.

To mark the 20th anniversary, Laura and her colleague Marie McQuade and friend Fraser Smart ran 40 miles from the original centre at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh to the latest Maggie’s to be completed – Maggie’s Forth Valley in the grounds of the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert.

“It was a lovely run, mainly alongside canals, which was beautiful but it was hard-going,” smiles Laura, who nursed the charity’s founder Maggie Keswick Jencks through her treatment for cancer.

The Centre, which will be the charity's 20th, has been funded by grant-making charity Walk the Walk and participants of The MoonWalk Scotland.

“It was a big challenge for us but it felt like a fitting way of marking 20 years of Maggie’s and the opening of our 20th centre later this year,” adds Laura.

“Such a feat is also an acknowledgement of how far we have come, all of which has been accomplished with voluntary donations and with thanks to support from our partners and funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery and walkers of The MoonWalk Scotland.”

Laura adds: “Maggie would be astounded to think how quickly we have grown, but possibly not surprised to discover how her pioneering approach to cancer care has been welcomed and embraced by so many people affected by cancer.”

Maggie drew up the blueprints for the original centre in Edinburgh in the months running up to her death in 1995 and Laura worked with Maggie’s husband, renowned architect Charles Jencks, to ensure her friend’s vision became a reality.

Laura adds: “I am deeply proud of the part I have played in not only keeping her legacy alive, but helping it to blossom.”

Laura was joined on the run by Marie McQuade, Maggie’s Director of Culture and Innovation, and Fraser Smart, long term Maggie’s supporter and entrepreneur.

Fraser has battled cancer five times.

Initially diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1991 when he was just 23, the cancer has recurred four times, requiring repeated major surgery and chemotherapy.

Fraser explains: “Each time I have had cancer, Maggie’s has provided me and my family with much needed emotional and practical support at very difficult times. It is important for me to give something back so that others can benefit from the services Maggie’s provide.”

Anyone who has ever visited a Maggie’s Centre knows the thinking behind the approach – as well as being warm and welcoming places, usually with a central ‘kitchen table’ for people to sit around and relax with tea and chat, the centres are staffed with qualified professionals offering an evidence-based programme of support that has been shown to improve physical and emotional wellbeing.

Practical support includes advice on benefits, eating well and specialist support for managing hair loss and skin care during and after treatment, while emotional supports includes one-to-one and group sessions with a clinical psychologist, stress reduction and relaxation workshops.

The completion of the Forth Valley centre means that all major cancer treatment centres in Scotland have a Maggie’s – but it is far from the end of the story.

“It’s brilliant that we have managed to open centres at the major NHS hospitals because it means that most people, in the densely populated areas of Scotland, are within reach of a Maggie’s and that’s a very significant step for us,” adds Laura.

“But we are always looking at ways to support people with cancer and their families and we can still do more to help.

“One of our centre heads, for example, has been talking to a woman whose father travelled from the islands to the Beatson for his cancer treatment about whether something could be done on the boat, a space created, for example, that would be a bit more Maggie’s.”

Despite its rapid growth – as well as the 20 existing centres, Maggie’s is planning a further seven including one in Barcelona – Laura believes the charity has stayed true to its original, heartfelt aims.

“Doing things like the run with Fraser, who has turned to Maggie’s to help him through the tough stuff, but then does so much inspiring work to fundraise for us, is what it’s about,” says Laura.

“Knowing there are new people to meet every day, who need our help, means we have never lost sight of what set out to do.

“That’s why it’s not hard to stay close to why Maggie’s matters.”

To find out more about Maggie’s to Maggie’s events, or the emotional and practical support that Maggie’s offers to people with cancer and their friends and families, visit www.maggiescentres.org