She goes on to mention the need for a private area, an old-fashioned ladies' room not a partitioned toilet in a row, which supplies privacy for crying, water for washing the face, and a mirror for getting ready to deal with the world outside again. Such facilities would seem fairly obvious for a place where one confronts life and death issues, and indeed they are becoming more common near cancer wards. But the issue is deeper than an old-fashioned ladies' room, as I have heard on several occasions from patients who have used Maggies Centres. They have told me, with considerable emotion welling-up close to tears, that the centre provided a place for them to go away from their family, their business, the hospital and have a good cry. The ambiance of Ma the calm dignity, the sympathetic attitude ofthe carers in this environment, all made the difference in their fight with cancer. Their gratitude was palpable. Maggies gave them a place to confront their myriad problems one at a time, and share such experience with others so afflicted. The special kind of architecture was humorous and thoughtful, provoking but informal, contemplative and risk- taking. It allowed them a self-transformation over time from someone in a state ofcrying shock to a clear-eyed acceptance of their plight. It encouraged the kind of transformation, as I will explain, that Maggie herself went through.