Ð԰ɵ¼º½

Who was Ð԰ɵ¼º½?

Ð԰ɵ¼º½ was a writer, gardener and designer. When she was 47, Ð԰ɵ¼º½ was diagnosed with breast cancer and five years later, in May 1993, on a visit to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, she was told that it had returned.

After hearing this, Ð԰ɵ¼º½ and her husband Charles Jencks were moved to a windowless corridor where they were left to process the news. They discussed the need for somewhere 'better' for people with cancer to go, outside of but nearby to the hospital.

Ð԰ɵ¼º½ and Charles designed the blueprint for the centres together, enlisting the help of some of their friends from the architectural world. The first Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and we now have centres across the UK and even some abroad.

Read more about Ð԰ɵ¼º½ and Charles, our founders

Above all what matters is not to lose the joy of living in the fear of dying.

Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s idea

Ð԰ɵ¼º½ felt that her diagnosis and treatment was as hard on her family as it was on her, so she created a new type of support, a centre that could make the experience of cancer more manageable for everyone.

She believed that with encouragement to become actively involved in treatment, and with the right information and support, people could change the way they live with cancer.

Ð԰ɵ¼º½ also wanted to bring people together in a calm and friendly space that would help them to find comfort in the experiences of others.

Ð԰ɵ¼º½ died shortly before the first centre opened, at the Western General Hospital – but with the support of Charles, and her medical team, including her cancer nurse Laura Lee (now Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s CEO), her vision lives on.

Growing our support

Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s has now grown into a network of centres built beside NHS hospitals across the UK.

Our centres help people to take back control when cancer turns life upside down, with professional support for anything from treatment side effects to money worries.

We also have centres abroad and plan to extend our support to have 30 centres open in the UK by 2022.

Our timeline

• 1988 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½ is first diagnosed with breast cancer
• 1993 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s breast cancer returns
• 1994 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½ writes ‘A view from the front line’ (a publication about her experience)
• 1994 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½ and her oncology nurse Laura Lee develop early plans for a ‘Cancer Caring Centre'
• 1995 – Architect Richard Murphy produces a plan to convert a stable building at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh
• 1995 – On 8 July, Ð԰ɵ¼º½ dies. The blueprints for what would become the very first Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s centre were on her hospital bed
• 1996 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Edinburgh opens
• 2000 – An extension to Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Edinburgh is opened
• 2002 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Glasgow opens
• 2003 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Dundee opens
• 2005 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Highlands opens
• 2006 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Fife opens
• 2008 – Her Majesty The Queen becomes Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s President. Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s West London opens
• 2010 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Cheltenham and Glasgow Gartnnavel opens
• 2011 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Nottingham and Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Swansea open
• 2012 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Cambridge (interim) opens, formed following a merger with Wallace Cancer Care and Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Hong Kong opens
• 2013 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Aberdeen, Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Newcastle and Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Oxford open
• 2014 - Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Lanarkshire and Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Wirral (interim) open
• 2016 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Manchester, Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Tokyo and Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s at the Royal Free (interim) open. The centre at the Royal Free is formed following a merger with the Cancerkin charity
• 2017 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Forth Valley, Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Oldham and Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Barts open
• 2018 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Edinburgh second extension opens
• 2019 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Cardiff and Kálida Barcelona open
• 2019 – Laura Lee awarded DBE
• 2020 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Leeds and Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s at the Royal Marsden officially open
• 2021 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Southampton and Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Wirral opens
• 2023 – Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s at the Royal Free opens

Centres in development

• Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Northampton
• Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Coventry
• Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Norway 
• Ð԰ɵ¼º½â€™s Netherlands
• Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Bristol
• Ð԰ɵ¼º½'s Preston