Users of the Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh were today visited by local resident and MSP Sarah Boyack. The centre, built by renowned architect Richard Murphy and located in the grounds of the Western General Hospital, equips cancer patients, their friends and family with the tools to build a life beyond the disease.

Sarah Boyack, MSP was given a tour of the centre and took the opportunity to talk to users over a cup of tea. She was joined by Centre Head Andrew Anderson and People’s Postcode Lottery Managing Director Jo Bucci.

Greatly impressed by the obvious positive impact Maggie’s has made upon the lives of those she spoke with, Boyack said: “It was fantastic to visit Maggie’s and pick up on the atmosphere and great to hear about the support given to centre users. Additionally, the visit provided a useful insight into how the People’s Postcode Lottery actually works and supports charities like Maggie’s.”

Maggie’s is a place where centre users can find practical information, benefits and nutrition advice, emotional and psychological support and take part in classes aimed at dealing with stress and promoting relaxation. Furthermore, all this takes place within an uplifting and homely environment that is quite removed from the sterile hospital environment.

The People’s Postcode Lottery attended in their capacity as a key supporter of Maggie’s, for whom the charity lottery has raised £666,100- enough to run two Maggie’s centres for a year.

It’s a figure Centre Head Andrew Anderson describes as “Astonishing. The ongoing and unrestricted support from the People’s Postcode Lottery is invaluable in helping Maggie’s Centres in Scotland to continue helping people build a life beyond cancer.”

Both Jo and Andrew expressed their thanks to Sarah Boyack, MSP for taking the time to visit the centre, with Jo commenting “It’s great to see MSP’s such as Sarah Boyack taking an active interest in Maggie’s, which exists not only in her own constituency of central Edinburgh but with four more centres across Scotland also.”