Finding the joy of living amid fear of dying
Cardiff hopes to get a Maggie’s Centre, which will provide emotional support for all those affected by cancer, empowering them with time to talk
Ambitious plans are in place to build a multi-million- pound cancer centre in the Welsh capital to help patients and their families with vital emotional and social support.
The Maggie’s Centre, which has planning approval, would provide specialist cancer services to people in Cardiff, Newport and the South Wales Valleys – and would expect around 20,000 visits a year.
With a thriving Maggie’s Centre already built in Swansea, one of its leading cancer specialists has highlighted the benefits of opening a similar facility next door to Velindre Cancer Centre.
Lucy Aubrey, who has worked as a cancer support specialist at Maggie’s South West Wales for four years, has been praised by fellow staff and patients for her “extraordinary” ability to make patients relax.
She says her centre, on the site of Swansea’s Singleton Hospital, prides itself on its warm, welcoming atmosphere and providing a “safe haven” away from the daunting hospital environment.
She said: “I think it’s a really special place because it’s not just a centre for the patient – it’s for anyone affected by cancer.
“As well as providing free practical, emotional and social support for cancer patients, we often have people in who are bereaved and need extra support.
“I am the first point of contact when people come into Maggie’s. It is my job to make people feel safe and relaxed when they first come through the doors by chatting to them.
“I am often assessing them without them even realising so I can find out the kind of support they would need.”
Maggie’s is a non-clinical facility where patients can get professional benefits advice, attend bereavement support groups or just have a cup of tea with people in similar circumstances.
Lucy, who previously worked in both chemotherapy and oncology units at Singleton Hospital and Velindre, says the Welsh NHS is fantastic at treating cancer – but can’t provide any in-depth emotional support.
“In oncology we were under pressure all the time and didn’t have the time to offer psychological support. The job was to save lives,” added the 40-year-old, who lost her mother-inlaw to cancer.
“But Maggie’s is completely different. It is able to give cancer patients and their families as much time as they need to talk through their problems.”
Lucy runs “walking and talking” groups so people can talk through their concerns with a member of staff.
And once a month Lucy facilitates a “talking heads” workshop in which she supports those affected by hair loss due to their cancer treatment.
The mum of one admits the job can be very emotionally draining but incredibly rewarding.
She added: “We have days that are very, very challenging because we deal with the whole family here.
“We have a very relaxed atmosphere here, so inevitably you get quite attached to people and establish really close relationships.”
Demand at the Swansea centre has steadily increased ever since it opened on its current site four years ago.
Lucy said more than 100 people can enter the site in a single day, which is why erecting a new site in Cardiff would prevent the site from overflowing.
She added: “What we are trying to do is help people find the tools to look after themselves.
“We want to empower them and give them the right information they need.”
The charity was set up by Maggie Keswick Jencks, who died in 1995 after discovering that her breast cancer had spread to her bones, liver and brain.
The Scottish cancer patient was determined to make sure people with the disease did not “lose the joy of living in the fear of dying”.
The centres pride themselves on helping cancer sufferers in inspirational surroundings, with a kitchen “at the heart” of the building.
The Cardiff Maggie’s is set to be designed by Dow Jones Architects and will be built with pennant sandstone, with Chelsea Flower Show award-winner Cleve West brought in to transform the gardens around the site.
But Maggie’s South East Wales needs £4.5m to create the centre with money raised entirely from vol- untary contributions. To date it has secured £1.3m towards its target and it hopes to have £3m in the bank by early next year.
Gwen Axford, Maggie’s South East Wales campaign manager, Maggie’s Centres, said: “They are places to find practical advice about benefits and eating well; places where qualified experts provide emotional support to people with cancer, their family and friends; places to meet other people or simply to sit quietly with a cup of tea. South East Wales needs a Maggie’s Centre.”
Since the first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996, 17 other centres have opened across the UK, online and abroad – and 2016 marks the charity’s 20th anniversary.
The funding for the Cardiff Maggie’s will be raised entirely from voluntary contributions.
For further information and to get involved in fundraising, please visit www.maggiescentres.org