Elizabeth found solace in drawing at Maggie's

But the pain got worse, and when I saw a doctor he told me it was cancer. I said, ‘Are you joking? It’s just a pain in the leg,’ but he diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia and sent me straight to hospital.

I’d had breast cancer ten years earlier, but I’d gone through a mastectomy and felt fine, so it hadn’t occurred to me that a leg pain could be serious.

Maggie's became a second home for me

I was sent to various hospitals until they could find one with the right treatment for me, and I became a patient at the Royal Marsden for the next seven months. I went through chemotherapy and various treatments and was only allowed home for a few days here and there.

The hospital often felt cold and quiet, and it was quite a long way from my home and my four adult children. It could have been depressing, but within two days my daughter took me to the Maggie’s in the grounds.

From the first moment I walked into Maggie’s, I knew it was the place for me. I was welcomed with warm smiles, and the place was so beautiful that my mood went from zero to ten.

I instantly forgot my worries, and I knew I could be happy at Maggie’s. It felt like a healing place and became like a second home for me.

Whenever my children came to visit, we met at Maggie’s. It’s such a beautiful, modern building, it was like meeting in a lovely coffee shop rather than a hospital.

I went to Maggie’s almost every day for seven months. I’d wake up in the hospital, eat my breakfast, take my tablets, tell the nurses where I was going then head straight for the centre. I was often the first one there in the morning.

Finding therapy in art at Maggie's

I spent my time there drawing or painting and talking to the staff. They’re so good at listening and they know just what to say. You can tell that they’re experienced and true. 

Sometimes it was just 10 minutes before I was called back to the hospital, sometimes I was at Maggie’s for a few hours. The rooms were all different colours and designs so there was always something inspiring to paint.

I used to be a school art teacher so painting is like therapy for me. When I was drawing pictures at Maggie’s, I forgot about everything else that was going on: the injections, the chemotherapy, the hospital.

I felt like I was in a magical world away from my treatment.

I’m usually a very strong person, but when things were hard during my chemotherapy - I put on weight, lost my balance, lost my hair - I felt very bad. But each day I looked in a mirror and tried to remind myself of all the good things in my life: ‘You are still beautiful, you have lovely children, you have a good job, you will be painting again soon.’

At the weekends when Maggie's was closed, I’d sit on a bench in the centre gardens and paint the trees and flowers instead. 

Being in nature helps your mind. If you concentrate on the shapes of the leaves, the smells of the flowers, the colours of the seasons, it raises your spirits. Maggie’s gardens are perfect for that.

At first, I drew on any scrap of paper I could find until my daughter bought me a book of blank paper so I could stick my pictures of Maggie’s in it. The book starts in December, just after I first came to Maggie’s, with a picture of the centre on a cold day. It goes all the way through to June, when I was discharged, with a picture of blue and red blossoming flowers.

I wrote captions to go with the pictures and gave the book to Maggie’s, so anyone else going through cancer can look at it and feel comforted.

Reflecting back one year later

It’s been a year since I finished treatment, and I still draw and paint to keep my mind active and positive.

I’ve just made a book of paintings of my daughter’s dog as a present for her. Nobody knows what will happen, tomorrow so it’s best to concentrate on enjoying today.

Whenever I have to go back to the hospital, I come into Maggie’s. It’s where I survived. It’s a place that makes me happy.

We’re here with you

Our cancer support specialists, psychologists and benefits advisors are here for everyone with cancer, and all the people who love them. 

• Come and see us at your nearest Maggie’s
• Call us on 0300 123 180 or arrange a callback
• Cmail us at enquiries@maggies.org