Bute House hosts special reception to mark 30 years of ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs
Friday 06 February 2026
Staff and supporters joined First Minister John Swinney at Bute House to celebrate 30 years of the charity.
The reception marks 30 years since the first ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and the expert support provided to millions of people and their families and friends since then.
ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ Keswick Jencks developed the blueprint for the first centre while she was living with advanced cancer. Following ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ death in July 1995, Dame Laura Lee DBE, who had been ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs chemotherapy nurse, worked with her family to ensure her vision became a reality.
There are now 27 ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ centres across the UK, including eight centres across Scotland. ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs announced in August that a further centre will be built in Dumfries and Galloway, where ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ was from.
ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs children, Lily and John Jencks, joined supporters, ambassadors and local volunteers to celebrate the milestone at , the official residence and workplace of the first minister of Scotland.
Lily Jencks speaks with First Minister John Swinney
ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ 'vital in delivering Scotland's Cancer Strategy'
First Minister John Swinney said: βThe Scottish Governmentβs Cancer Strategy sets out a long-term commitment to improving care at every stage. ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs plays a vital role in helping to deliver that ambition by providing practical, emotional and psychological support that complements NHS clinical care.
βWe are proud to support ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs. Our prehabilitation pilot supported more than 2,600 people, and prehabilitation is now a core offer across all of ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs Scottish Centres β a powerful example of the NHS and charities working together to improve peopleβs experiences of care.
βOn World Cancer Day, marked under the theme βUnited by Uniqueβ, which recognises that every experience of cancer is different, I want to thank every staff member, volunteer, fundraiser, partner and supporter who has shaped ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs over the last 30 years.β
Looking forward to the next 30 years
During the reception, Dame Laura Lee DBE described ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs vision for cancer care and how it has grown over the last 30 years:
βIt was an honour to be invited to Bute House to celebrate three decades of ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs and how the vision of ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ Keswick Jencks over 30 years ago has helped so many people in our 27 centres across the UK impacted by cancer.
βΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ vision has guided us from the moment our doors opened in 1996 and will continue to resonate as we look to the future and support more people and their families impacted by cancer.
Thanks to ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ, people now have a place of calm to come to, space to find expert support, and a place that helps them find joy.
βΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs should be an immense source of pride for people in Scotland, and we look forward to the continued support from the government and people of Scotland as we look to the next three decades.β
Here for 30 years, here for good
Everyone with cancer deserves a place like ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs. We want to continue to grow so that we can support everyone impacted by cancer in the UK.
It costs nothing to come into one of our centres - but it takes your kind donations to keep us free of charge for everyone living with cancer and their family and friends.
Become a Friend of ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉ by donating, fundraising for us or getting involved, and help ΠΗΜ½ΒιΆΉβs to be here today, tomorrow and always.