'Maggie's saved me' - vital Glasgow cancer charity to get share of our £20k funding pot

The 57-year-old had been diagnosed with cancer of the tonsils and the world he knew had been turned upside down.

With his wife Lesley by his side, he took the first step in asking for support at the Gartnavel hospital site, close to the Beatson West of Scotland cancer centre.

“It was as if they had been waiting for me to come in,” he said.

“I don’t know what it was but it just felt right. Someone is there in a second to speak to you and you don’t even need to make an appointment.”

Alan added: “I don’t think I’m overstating it when I say Maggie’s saved me.”

Maggie’s cancer caring centres have been providing support to people learning to live with a cancer diagnosis for 25 years.

Founder Maggie Keswick Jencks used her own experience of breast cancer to create a new type of care.

Sadly, she died just before the first centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996. Now there is a network of centres across the UK.

Glasgow Times readers raised £1.2million to build the city’s first Maggie’s in 2002, at the old Western Infirmary site, nd its second, at Gartnavel, opened in 2011.

Maggie’s, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and Beloved Rabbits are three Glasgow good causes up for a share of a £20,000 cash pot as part of our Readers’ Choice Cash for Charities initiative.

There are eight Scottish charities in the running – the others are Ardgowan Hospice, Man On Inverclyde, Erskine, Calum’s Cabin and Autism Rocks.

All eight will receive a share of the £20,000 but how it is divided is up to you – our readers – to decide.

Our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, is providing the cash. To determine how the £20,000 is allocated, readers are invited to collect tokens which appear in our newspapers every day during November until the closing date.

You can then drop your tokens at collection points across our region, including supermarkets, restaurants and other prominent locations, or post them to Glasgow Times Readers’ Choice Cash for Charities Nominations, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow G32 8FG.

You can also drop them in to our offices at 194 Bath Street.

Tokens must arrive by the closing date of Sunday, November 28.

Each token collected will then be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity – so if your favourite charity collects 50 percent of all tokens collected, it will receive £10,000.

Glasgow businessman and father-of-two Alan is supporting Maggie’s as a thank you for how they helped him cope with the intense anxiety he felt following his cancer diagnosis.

“You have the shock of a diagnosis and the medical treatment that follows,” he said.

“In my case I had found a lump on my neck in 2019 and after tests I was told it was cancer of the tonsils.

“I had an operation, radiotherapy and chemotherapy and the medical care I had was first class.

“However, this all came with extreme anxiety and that’s where Maggie’s came in. They offer counselling, relaxation therapy.”

He added: “I had never thought of going to the likes of Tai Chi, but I went along to one of the classes and found it helped.

“I remember going to a counselling session and my wife Lesley was outside. She wondered what on earth we were talking about as she could hear laughter, but the staff have a way of making you feel at ease.”

The couple and their two daughters, Laura, 26, and Kirsty, 22, say they will always be grateful to Maggie’s for their support and have been fundraising themselves for the charity.

“I really hope readers support Maggie’s,” added Mr Turnbull.

“They help so many people through a difficult time.”

From one to one sessions with psychologists to group sessions and activities such as Tai Chi and Yoga, Maggie’s Centres wanted to offer something different.

One of their programmes, Where Now? is a seven week course to help people adjust to life after treatment.

It’s this project, run at Gartnavel, that Maggie’s will fund from their share of Cash for Charities.

Kerry Craig, Centre Head for Maggie’s Glasgow, said: “We were delighted to be chosen as one of the charities for this year’s Gannett Foundation award and it means so much to us.

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“We have been supporting people throughout the pandemic, some of whom have received their diagnosis during these times but because of the restrictions might have been more isolated.

“We are there for people throughout their journey and as they finish their cancer treatment, as well as their friends and family.”

The charity is hoping a share of the Cash for Charities pot will allow more people to access the Where Now? course.

“Any funds we receive from this initiative will go towards helping more people join the course,” added Kerry.

“Where Now? offers skills and techniques to support people through this transition period and beyond.

“We do plan to run them next year, but with extra funds we can help even more people.”