Maggie's Centre Fife

Maggie's Centres provide free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends. Built in the grounds of NHS hospitals but run by an independent charity, Maggie’s Centres work in partnership with the NHS. We are proud to have a Fife Maggie's centre in the grounds of Victoria Hospital.

Cancer support

In Fife Maggie's specialist staff offer one-to-one advice as well as group sessions, workshops and courses aimed at helping to address the physical and psychological impact of living with cancer.

A calming space

Come in for a cup of tea, meet people who understand what you're going through or just take a moment to gather your thoughts. Maggie’s offers the best possible support free to anyone with cancer and their families who walk through their doors. You'll find our Fife centre in the grounds of the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. Maggie's is the black angular building opposite the main entrance, incidentally designed by award winning architect Zaha Hadid.

I describe Maggie’s to patients as a ‘safe place’ to speak about their cancer, where patients and relatives can be listened to; have their questions and concerns addressed to help them cope better day to day

A bit of context

Maggie's founder Maggie Keswick Jencks used her own experience of having cancer to create a new type of cancer care. The first Maggie's opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and we now have a network of centres across the UK and some abroad.

A new kind of cancer care

Maggie's idea was that with the right support, nobody would lose the joy living in the fear of dying when diagnosed with cancer.

Who was Maggie?

Maggie was a writer, gardener and designer. When she was 47, Maggie 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, Maggie 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.

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

Maggie's Cancer Care Centre, Kirkcaldy

Maggie’s Fife was Zaha Hadid’s first permanent structure in the UK when it opened in 2006. It was the architect’s intention that the centre sit in direct and deliberate contrast to the architecture of the Kirkcaldy Hospital. The building makes particular use of natural light. Quirky triangular windows draw the attention of visitors, and their spirits, upwards, while glass wall overlooks a wild ravine full of plant and animal life whilst the other side of the building is deliberately windowless for privacy.