FACE (Fighting Against Cancer Edinburgh) provides the ‘little things’ which can make a real difference for patients undergoing treatment for cancer.

These things help make the time spent in hospital as comfortable as possible, the environment and experience as positive as it can be.

FACE also organises an annual trip for children & families impacted by cancer to meet Santa Claus in Lapland. This has been a wonderful experience for all who travel with us.

FACE is a cancer fund established in the 1990s and based at the Western General Hospital.

FACE is part of NHS Lothian Charity and is run by a group of dedicated volunteers, whose lives have been impacted by cancer in some way.

Here are examples of where the money raised through FACE has helped people
with cancer and their families. You can find out more about some of these in our Latest News section.

If you have an idea where FACE may be able to help, please get in touch

  • Built the FACE garden in the grounds of the WGH and provide funds for the maintenance of Amanda’s Garden
  • Provide funds each year towards a trip for children & families impacted by cancer to see Santa Claus in his Arctic home in Lapland
  • Help to fund complementary therapy sessions for patients within the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, and the WGH in Edinburgh
  • Provided the oncology unit at the WGH with a HoverMatt Air Transfer Mattress and HoverJack. This revolutionary technology helps staff move patients in and out of bed, without the need to physical lift them.
  • Provided the oncology wards in the WGH with foldable wheelchairs and a special reclining wheelchair, which can be used to take patients for short trips in and out of hospital.
  • Provided funds for the supply of free ice lollies for patients unable to eat while going through treatment at the WGH
  • Provided heat pads for wards in the oncology unit of the WGH, which help patients going through certain treatments
  • Funded the production of leaflets which give patients information about lymphoedema
  • Replaced all the tired chairs and tables in the Oncology Outpatients Department at the WGH
  • Provided special adjustable beds to make patients more comfortable and help staff
  • Provided a special shower reclining chair, which helps patients to overcome difficulties and have a shower
  • Provided new duvets, curtains, mirrors, and televisions
  • Created a hessian type bag with a thistle logo on it, for return of the belongings of someone who has sadly passed away
  • Provide complimentary toilet bags for anyone who, in the event of an emergency, needs to stay overnight in hospital
  • Provide funds to replenish a ‘wedding box’, make a difference for patients & their families if their special day is in the WGH
  • Provide fresh flowers and a supply of daily newspapers to treatment areas
  • Installed a free Wi-Fi service in Ward 11, prior to it being rolled out by NHS Lothian across the Edinburgh Cancer Centre
  • Provided a supply of I Pods for patients to listen to music, help them through scans
  • Provided free turbans or bandana for patients, when they lost their hair through chemotherapy treatment
  • Simply replaced a window view of a brick wall with image of Princes St Gardens in a patient room
  • Provided framed pictures of beautiful photographs for wards across the Edinburgh Cancer Centre
  • Supported group trips for young people affected by cancer, arranged a day course to help young people cope when a parent had received a terminal diagnosis
  • Completed refurbishment of the Chapel of Rest within the WGH, now known as the “Bereavement Suite”.
  • Provided couches for the Mammography Unit and Nuclear Medicine Unit
  • Provided funds for the provision of air conditioning in the Mammography unit
  • Created an Aromatherapy room in the Macmillan centre of the hospital