Charity open 27th cancer centre in Northampton
The Maggie's Centre is having an opening day today at Northampton General Hospital, before welcoming patients tomorrow.
A new Northampton Cancer Centre hopes to welcome 15,000 people each year.
The new Maggie's Centre at Northampton General Hospital, aims to provide support for those receiving treatment is having an opening day today, before welcoming their first patients tomorrow.
Centre Head in Northampton is Wendy Lilley who explains the way Maggie's centres provide holistic care, supporting people around the kitchen table:
"We provide workshops so that people can get the information they need either to prepare them for treatment or how to cope once treatment finishes or to live their best sort of possible life in terms of health and well-being.
"So it might be that somebody attends relaxation sessions, they might attend some of the exercise sessions that we'll be delivering. So for example, Nordic walking and seated yoga.
"It may be that people just want to come in and have a cup of tea because they're early for a chemo session and they just want to be able to sit somewhere calm, comforting and welcome in before they start their treatment."
One in two of us will have a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime, and Wendy says the new centre means people across Northamptonshire won't have to travel to other centres:
"For Maggie's that support is indefinite, so even if it's somebody five years down the line who has finished treatment but wakes up one morning and just doesn't feel right, feels that they need just that bit of extra support or company, then they can access Maggie's."
It's been funded partly by a donation of 2.4million from the family of Northampton business woman Diana Russell, Wendy explains it was really important to the centre coming to fruition and she'll be honoured in the buildings name:
"It will be known as Maggie's Northampton at the Diana Russell Building, which is a really nice tribute to Diana Russell herself, but also to her family."
"She wanted people to not lose the joy of living in the fear of dying."
Maggie's in Northampton gained planning permission in 2020, but the lead Cancer Nurse at Northampton General Liz Summers says it's been in the planning for 12 years:
"It's so wonderful now to see it and finally come into fruition. I knew nothing about Maggie Centres until one of the business partners from Maggie's came to one of our Lead Cancer Nurse Meetings, and she spoke about Maggie Jencks, who was a founder of Maggie's, who was a lady with breast cancer, and even while she was living with terminal disease, she wanted people to not lose the joy of living in the fear of dying."
Liz says it will mean so much for cancer patients:
"Hospitals have become increasingly busy places and there's not always the time to give the patients that that you would like to give because you're running on to the next patient.
"They are just beautiful buildings, all centred around the kitchen table, which Maggie thought was the heart of the home, where anyone affected by cancer patient loved one family friend can walk in, sit down, have a cup of tea and just talk about what's important to them."