The month started spectacularly with a very special visitor to mark the occasion – First Lady of the USA, Michelle Obama.  Michelle visited the centre with Maggie’s Patron, Sarah Brown.  The two VIP guests met with centre users and sat in on classes to see first hand the great support that people affected by cancer across London are receiving.

Furthermore, Michelle and Sarah enjoyed a slice of birthday cake around the kitchen table, whilst hearing about the work that has taken place in the first 12 months of Maggie’s London.

Maggie’s London was opened by Nigella Lawson to great public interest in Spring 2008.  It is the first of six centres planned across England and Wales by 2012.  The centre has had a hugely successful first year with over 12,000 visits – a similar figure to the number of people that have visited the more established Maggie's Centres in Scotland.
 
Maggie’s CEO Laura Lee said: ”We were delighted to host Michelle Obama here at Maggie's London on the first year anniversary of the centre.  Michelle understood first hand the impact that cancer can have on a person and their family’s lives and she immediately engaged with the point of Maggie's.  The warmth and patience she showed and the time she took to engage with everyone was greatly appreciated.”

Other activities occured throughout the month to help celebrate; one centre user, Zoe Williams, was given the opportunity to appear on ITV1's This Morning to highlight the positive work that the centre's Look Good, Feel Better programme has done. Zoe was also given a makeover and her wig was styled!

To round off the month, the staff at Maggie's London ran a competition to discover which of the centre's users could create the best birthday cake. Over 60 centre users and staff from the hospital joined in by baking, tasting and judging to toast the centre's first year in style.