Meet the Team - Fan Kwan
Mr. Fan Kwan, Executive Director of Maggie's Centre.
1. What was your first impression of Maggie’s Centre?
The contrast of Maggie’s Centre’s non-institutional design and the regular hospital blocks and settings hits me right away. The great architecture, the red roof, bright windows, the lovely garden and the calming pond…all these are remarkably beautiful, unlike a “typical” healthcare institute setting. The interior too – the large round dining table, open kitchen, and the Chinese carved chairs under the rays of natural light – contribute to the welcoming ambience at Maggie’s Centre. Users of the Centre and staff members are like close friends. Behind each face is a living story of how one was touched by cancer, yet never fails to stay positive and never gives up. Some say Maggie’s Centre looks like a resort, but I think “home” might be a better word to describe what Maggie’s Centre means to our users.
2. Any unforgettable moments here at Maggie’s Centre?
Not long after I joined Maggie’s Centre, I had the chance to sit down with two Centre users and was deeply touched by their stories. They visited Maggie’s for the first time as cancer patients, and had been sharing a lot with us since then – from going through their cancer journey with the support of our team, attending support programmes at the Centre, to volunteering with us as cancer survivors who share their experience with new Centre users. From their sincere tone and eyes welled with tears, I know they meant every single word of it, of how Maggie’s has created positive changes in them as they go through difficult times.
3. Can you tell us one special thing about Maggie’s Centre, and how that benefits people affected by cancer?
Besides the healing environment, Maggie’s Centre develops its service model from the patients’ point of view. Our founder, Maggie Keswick Jencks, drew up the service blueprint from her own cancer experience, which emphasises on the free access to cancer support that requires no fee, no referral or appointment. This way the Centre creates a stress-free environment for its users, which also provides a platform for them to share experiences amongst themselves and to support one another.
It is definitely a privilege to work at Maggie’s Centre, to hold dear a motto from our founder which is also the driving force behind all that we do at Maggie’s, “Above all, what matters most is not to lose the joy of living in the fear of dying.”