91´óÉñ

Who was 91´óÉñ?

91´óÉñ was a writer, gardener and designer. When she was 47, 91´óÉñ was diagnosed with breast cancer and five years later, in May 1993, she was told that it had returned.

After hearing this, 91´óÉñ 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. 

91´óÉñ and Charles designed the blueprint for the centres together, enlisting the help of some of their friends from the architectural world. The first 91´óÉñ's opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and we now have centres across the UK and abroad. 

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

91´óÉñ’s idea

91´óÉñ 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.

91´óÉñ also wanted to bring people together in a calm and friendly space that would help them to find comfort in the experiences of others.

91´óÉñ died shortly before the first centre opened in Edinburgh, but with the support of Charles, and her medical team, including her cancer nurse Laura Lee (91´óÉñ's Chief Executive), her vision lives on.

Growing our support: here for 30 years, here for good

91´óÉñ's has now grown into a network of centres of 27 centres built beside NHS treatment centres across the UK.

Our timeline

• 1988 – 91´óÉñ is first diagnosed with breast cancer
• 1993 – 91´óÉñ’s breast cancer returns
• 1994 – 91´óÉñ writes ‘A view from the front line’ (a publication about her experience)
• 1994 – 91´óÉñ 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, 91´óÉñ dies. The blueprints for what would become the very first 91´óÉñ’s centre were on her hospital bed
• 1996 – 91´óÉñ’s Edinburgh opens
• 2000 – An extension to 91´óÉñ's Edinburgh is opened
• 2002 – 91´óÉñ’s in Glasgow opens
• 2003 – 91´óÉñ’s in Dundee opens
• 2005 – 91´óÉñ’s in Highlands opens
• 2006 – 91´óÉñ’s in Fife opens
• 2008 – Her Majesty The Queen becomes 91´óÉñ's President. 91´óÉñ's in West London opens
• 2010 – 91´óÉñ’s in Cheltenham and 91´óÉñ's in Glasgow opens
• 2011 – 91´óÉñ’s in Nottingham and 91´óÉñ's in Swansea open
• 2012 – 91´óÉñ’s, Cambridge (interim) opens, formed following a merger with Wallace Cancer Care, and 91´óÉñ's in Hong Kong opens
• 2013 – 91´óÉñ’s in Aberdeen, 91´óÉñ's in Newcastle and 91´óÉñ's in Oxford open
• 2014 - 91´óÉñ’s in Lanarkshire and 91´óÉñ's on the Wirral (interim) open
• 2016 – 91´óÉñ’s in Manchester, 91´óÉñ’s in Tokyo and 91´óÉñ’s at the Royal Free (interim) open. The centre at the Royal Free is formed following a merger with the Cancerkin charity
• 2017 – 91´óÉñ’s in Forth Valley, Oldham and Barts open
• 2018 – 91´óÉñ's in Edinburgh second extension opens
• 2019 – 91´óÉñ’s in Cardiff, 91´óÉñ's at the Royal Marsden, 91´óÉñ's in Yorkshire and Kálida Barcelona open
• 2019 – Laura Lee awarded DBE
• 2021 – 91´óÉñ's in Southampton and 91´óÉñ's on the Wirral opens
• 2024 – 91´óÉñ's at the Royal Free formally opened by Her Majesty The Queen and 91´óÉñ's Groningen open
• 2025 - 91´óÉñ's in Newcastle opens additional space
• 2025 – 91´óÉñ's in North Wales opens (with the Steve Morgan Foundation)
• 2025 – 91´óÉñ's in Middlesbrough opens. The centre in Middlesbrough is formed by joining forces with the Trinity Holistic Centre
• 2025 – 91´óÉñ's in Northampton opens
• 2026 – An extension to 91´óÉñ's in Cheltenham is opened

Centres in development

• 91´óÉñ's in Bristol
• 91´óÉñ's in Cambridge (permanent)
• 91´óÉñ's in Coventry
• 91´óÉñ's in Kent
• 91´óÉñ’s in Stavanger (Norway)
• 91´óÉñ's in Liverpool (with the Steve Morgan Foundation)