A place of sanctuary and hope

They were the vision of the Dumfriesshire-based garden designer and author Maggie Keswick Jencks when she was treated for breast cancer. She recognised the need for a small domestic haven which could concentrate on an individual's needs as a person, not just as a cancer patient. Working with local NHS partnerships, Maggie's Centres provide emotional, psychological and practical support including classes in subjects such as stress management and t'ai chi. All this is provided free to anyone affected by cancer.

Maureen Fee, centre head at the Glasgow Maggie's at the Western Infirmary, which welcomed more than 12,000 visitors last year, explains: "We're working on the mind to help the body. What we're trying to do is keep people with cancer healthy in body and mind to enable them to actively participate in the treatment of their condition."

The Herald recently visited the Glasgow Maggie's to speak to patients about what the centre means to them.

Sandra Stewart
Mother of two, age 43
"Dealing with a cancer diagnosis is very hard, and because my cancer is treatable but not curable, it's doubly difficult," says Sandra. "Doctors prefer to let me live a normal life for as long as possible rather than keep disturbing me with treatment; they leave it until it's absolutely necessary. So I'm living in limbo."

Sandra was diagnosed with myeloma, a cancer of the blood, in February last year. She will get chemotherapy and a stem-cell transplant when the time comes, and is being monitored regularly at the Western Infirmary.

In the meantime, she is drawing great strength from regular visits to the Glasgow Maggie's Centre. "When I was diagnosed, I was on autopilot: this wasn't happening to me. But after I returned from my summer holiday I had a breakdown. My mind kept dwelling on my condition and eventually I was overwhelmed with it.

"I started coming to Maggie's last April to do the six-week Living with Cancer course, but I didn't tell anybody at work that I had cancer and I felt very isolated."

After her breakdown, however, she told more people and began visiting Maggie's more regularly. "I could just come here and cry about it. You don't need to explain yourself to anybody. Meeting new friends and listening to their stories has helped me get an insight into chemotherapy and what to expect. I know what happens to your nails and hair, and so on. It's good to talk - and to listen. But when I came here the first time, I couldn't walk through the door because I was frightened of what I would find on the other side.

"Crossing the threshold is a big thing, because it means you're admitting you've got cancer. As soon as I walked in I felt the anxiety flush away. It's not full of people who regard themselves as victims. It's totally supportive and everybody's equal."

Lisa Devlin
Sales manager, age 32
Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2006. "I was lucky because I found a lump and started treatment very quickly. But things move so quickly after detection, sometimes your mind can't catch up. I kept on working, trying to cling on to normality, which is easy because in many ways it's an invisible disease. I do a lot of travelling with my job, and have constant targets to meet. I did have too much stress.

"After my second cycle of chemotherapy I worked from home but the phone was ringing off the hook all day. One day I went into a wind-down, like being in a frozen state. Five months into the whole thing, I hadn't cried once. Maggie's has helped me to face it and to stop trying to be superwoman. It allows you to cry. You share things with total strangers that you wouldn't normally share with other people. You don't have to be that strong person your colleagues see you as."

For Lisa, attending stress-management classes at Maggie's has had a massive influence.

She says they have helped her accept cancer as part of her life. "Maggie's is like a sanctuary," she says. "You're able to be what you really are, let it all out. You can take your mask off in here. I honestly don't know how people can exist without this.

"The first time I brought my mum here, she broke down because she knew she could let go, too. Cancer doesn't just happen to the person who has it."

Donny Young
Retired firefighter, age 59
Donny's colorectal cancer was diagnosed in January 2006. He has finished his treatment, and now has a colostomy. "It doesn't stop me coming here several times a week," he says eagerly. "I come to Maggie's for the company and to attend the relaxation and meditation classes. It's really important to me, because I'm sure stress played a part in my getting cancer. If you worry a lot, your stress levels go up, so doing meditation helps.

"Learning about chakras, the body's seven energy centres, has opened doors for me. I feel I've taken off on a rocket and landed on the moon. Because of Maggie's I actually feel I'm a better person for having had cancer. The only drawback of coming to the classes is you have to make sure you don't have holes in your socks!"

Michelle Gifford
Housing officer, age 34
Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2006. Her treatment has finished and she has made a full physical recovery. However, two attempts to return to work have been unsuccessful. "I'm dealing with the psychological after-effects and am finding it difficult to accept the person I am now," she explains.

Michelle is having regular counselling sessions with Maggie's clinical psychologist Claire Marriott to help her accept what's happened. "I suffer from feelings of loss and emptiness. I'm grieving for the life I knew, and for the person I was before I got cancer. I don't recognise myself. My hair has completely changed colour. I look in the mirror and I don't see me," she says. "The psychological impact of my cancer has been more difficult than the actual diagnosis and treatment."

For Michelle, who is single and lives alone, Maggie's has become a second home. "Everyone my age is at work during the day. I've needed somewhere to come a few times a week. My mum lives in Spain and my dad in London, and my sister cares for me. It's stressful for her because she has a family.

"You can be vulnerable here, which is very therapeutic. I'm learning from Claire to acknowledge and accept my difficulties. I'm still finding it difficult to let go of the past, but with Claire's help I'm trying to find the new me. I'm beginning to feel positive and excited about the future."

Alan Rodrick
Civil engineer, age 63
Alan has neuroendocrine cancer. He was diagnosed in July 2006 and is on a drug trial at the Beatson in Glasgow. He has been practising meditation and relaxation at Maggie's - something he would never have contemplated in his previous life.

"My cancer is very slow-growing and the doctors don't know if they've got to the root of it," he says. "I have to decide if my glass is half-full or half-empty."

He says he was wound up and stressed in his job, and in his role as a community councillor, but is much calmer now. "At Maggie's I've got peace, tranquillity, support and friendship. If you'd told me two years ago that I'd get into all this chakra stuff, I'd have told you to take a hike.

"I come from a black-and-white background where everything has to be scientifically proven. But I am convinced the holistic approach does work. Once you see something demonstrated to you, you have to throw down your preconceptions. You have to accept there are things that can't be explained.

"Doing the classes at Maggie's, you can feel the holistic sensation working on you. You've got to open your mind and accept there's something happening to you."

Carol McVey
Carer, age 54
Carol was diagnosed with breast cancer in July last year. At Maggie's she has made firm friends with Linda Tomlinson, 47, and Sandra Watson, 49, who also have breast cancer. "We wouldn't have met if it hadn't been for Maggie's," she says.

"I have two sons, and one of them in particular always comes with me to the hospital to hold my hand when I get check-ups or treatment. He's read all the information booklets at Maggie's, and at home he'll encourage me to eat well, put my make-up on and feel better. But this is the only place I come to by myself. This is my space."