A BRAND new £2.2 million support hub has opened at Scotland’s biggest cancer centre.

The Macmillan Cancer Support investment transformed the entrance of the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre and will provide a range of services for people affected by the disease.

The support hub was officially opened by the husband and seven-year-old daughter of cancer victim Susan Selkirk, who was treated for breast cancer in the Beatson and sadly died in the hospital in November 2016.

Susan was also a Macmillan employee and before her death was influential on the new hub at Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. It was her idea to introduce a new family area after she found it difficult to find a place away from her ward to spend time with her daughter when she was too unwell to leave the hospital.

The work on the new hub took around nine months to complete and the front entrance has been extended and extensively refurbished.

The new space provides a larger, brighter and more comfortable area that acts both as a support hub and provides space for patients and families to spend time together during treatment.

There is a much-expanded Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Centre where patients and carers can drop in for emotional support or to ask questions about cancer and its treatments in a more comfortable and private area.

There is also a range of services available to people affected by cancer, including benefits advice services and one to one support workers to assist with anything from providing a listening ear, essential chores around the house or child care.

Meanwhile, Baxters Food Group has announced Macmillan Cancer Support as its official charity partner for the company’s 150th anniversary.

Laura Foreman, fundraising manager for Macmillan, joined representatives from Baxters at the company’s headquarters in Edinburgh to kick off the fundraising partnership.

The pair served up an extra special celebration cake filled with Baxters Raspberry Jam, the product that originally started the Baxters story in 1868 in a small grocery shop in the Highland village of Fochabers.

Baxters will be working together with Macmillan Cancer Support throughout its 150th year in a bid to raise over £100,000. The funds will support two Macmillan nurses for a year, enabling them to continue to provide invaluable specialist care to those living with cancer.

Fundraising manager Laura Foreman said: “At Macmillan, we know cancer can affect everything. We’re here to help people live their best life, no matter what, but we can’t do it without the amazing people and firms who fundraise for us.

“The money Baxters and their fantastic staff will raise will go towards funding our vital services.”