Our stories

Juliet The Maggie's Centre has been a haven for my children and me during a very challenging period of our family’s life.  The gentle care, education and understanding shown by the Maggie volunteers and staff has been invaluable in bringing some stability during a very turbulent time.  I now want not only to put back but also ensure that other recipients of this frightening disease are helped in the way that I have been.  That is why I am walking.

Trisha Bravo Juliet!  She is a very dear friend; a part of my ante-natal group originally and an important part of my life ever since.  Juliet seems to have dealt with her breast cancer and treatment in an extraordinarily calm and matter-of-fact way.  She introduced me to Maggie’s Centres, which are a wonderful haven for people with cancer – a place to go for advice, support and endless cups of tea.  This 20 mile ‘night hike’ in aid of Maggie’s Centres is already proving to be a good challenge – partly in terms of finding the time to go for practice walks!  But we’ve been making good use of the local area (the Thames paths, Kew Gardens and, this morning, the 8 mile circuit of Richmond Park) and I know that walking in a team will help us to have the strength and stamina on the actual night.  Please think of us on Friday 17^th September as you’re getting ready to be tucked up in bed…

Pauline I think I always knew that friends and family were important, but it’s taken me nearly half a century to realise that they are pretty much everything. Watching two very dear friends go through the dark journey that a cancer diagnosis initiates has shown me how connected we all are, how what happens to one – the shock, the fear, the determination to be positive -  ripples out to many. The Maggie’s Centres understand the strength of that connection and show that when we work together to support each other something wonderful happens – an immensely strong chain of hope, love and understanding. Which is why doing our Night Walk together as a group makes sense. And why doing anything to promote and raise funds for Maggie’s Centres feels like the most natural thing in the world. 

Diana  Having a sister or friend diagnosed with cancer gives you a feeling of helplessness: what you most want to be able to do is help, but you are at a loss for information, and drained by your emotions. The Maggie Centre is there to overcome those initial feelings.  It is a wonderful source of both emotional support and practical guidance, which allows you to help those affected.  Please give generously to support this inspirational organization.