Queen meets cancer patients on visit to Maggie's centre

North Wales Chronicle

2 days ago

Arriving in heavy rain, Camilla was greeted by Maggie's chief executive Dame Laura Lee before moving inside to meet staff, volunteers and centre users.
Maggie's Fife opened in 2006 in the grounds of Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and was the first permanent structure in the UK by architect Dame Zaha Hadid.
Built in the grounds of NHS hospitals, the cancer support charity centres aim to provide a comforting space where patients can meet others who understand what they are going through.
Camilla has been president of the charity since 2008 and since then has visited 17 out of the 24 centres.
During her visit on Wednesday, the Queen also met campaigner Sarah Brown and broadcaster Kirsty Wark who have both long been patrons of Maggie's.
Mrs Brown, wife of former prime minister Gordon Brown, said: 'I think it's really special for the Queen to come to the Maggie's here in Kirkcaldy.
'I know that there has been a warm welcome for both the King and the Queen coming to Fife and I'm so pleased she was able to make time to come to the Maggie's.
'This, I think, is one of the real gems. I was here at the opening a long time ago and I've seen it grow to become such an important part of the community.
'There are people here with cancer who need it, and their families, but also people are fundraising for it and they just feel so connected to it.'
Mrs Brown said the Queen seemed interested to hear about the young people's group at the centre.
She added: 'I was very struck by her hearing about the young people's group here because that is an area of concern in that field, that there are more and more young people with cancer and trying to understand why that is and what's happening in our lives, and that was definitely something she homed in on and understood it was a concern.
'She was pleased to hear there is such an active young person's group here.'
Wark, who has been a Maggie's patron for more than 20 years, said the Queen is 'incredibly committed' to Maggie's and her visit on Wednesday meant a lot to those at the Fife centre.
She said: 'When the Queen is here what she wants to do is speak to centre users, they are the best advocates for Maggie's and often you will find that a centre user becomes a volunteer.'
The Queen also met Gregor Forbes, 37, who was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin Lymphoma in January 2022, seven days before his son was born.
He underwent six months of chemotherapy and has since been in remission.
He joined a discussion with the Queen, Mrs Brown and Wark and told them about his experience taking part in the young person's group at Maggie's.
Mr Forbes, who lives in Rosyth in Fife, said: 'The Queen seemed really warm and really engaged and it was really nice that she came.
'It's a day I will never forget.'
Maggie's was founded by the late writer, gardener and designer Maggie Keswick Jencks and her husband, the late landscape designer Charles Jencks.
The idea for the centres came after she was diagnosed with cancer and was then told in 1993 that it had returned and was moved to a windowless corridor to process the news.
The first Maggie's opened in Edinburgh in 1996.
Dame Laura said: 'It is always a joy to welcome Her Majesty to one of our centres, especially one she has never been to before.
'As always, she was incredibly generous with her time and listened closely to our centre visitors as they shared their stories.
'We are so grateful for her continued support.'