Cosmetics company helps fund Scotland’s first breast cancer wellness centre

A major cosmetics company is providing funding for the first breast cancer wellness centre in Scotland.

The Estee Lauder Companies is providing funding to House of Hope, in Gorgie, Edinburgh, as part of its commitment to supporting people with the disease – with 10,000 women aged under 50 diagnosed every year in the UK.

The House of Hope charity was founded by Lisa Fleming, who was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2017, and her husband Euan, and a let has been agreed on a property near the Water of Leith.

When it opens in January, it will be the first dedicated breast cancer wellbeing and support centre in Scotland, and it will aim to improve patients’ quality of life by providing access to holistic therapies and wellbeing services away from a medical environment.

Mrs Fleming received support from the first specialised breast cancer centre in London, Future Dreams House, which offers counselling, yoga, massage, nutrition advice, and peer support groups, and it is also supported financially by Estee Lauder Companies.

In 1992, Evelyn H Lauder – an Austrian refugee who married into the Lauder family business after meeting her husband on a blind date in New York – made a commitment to support breast cancer care.

She founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in 1993 and became the chairwoman before her death in 2011.

The Estee Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Campaign and the Charitable Foundation have funded more than £100m of research into the disease in the past 32 years, and the global ambassador is actress Liz Hurley.

Mrs Fleming said: “This tremendous and much appreciated support from Estee Lauder Companies will allow the House of Hope to engage with the breast cancer network across Scotland to highlight the wellbeing services that will be available.

“A breast cancer diagnosis at any stage can be all-consuming, but it is the compassion and support of the breast cancer community that helps patients and their families through their unknown journey.

“I have been fortunate to have received personal support from Future Dreams House in London and was immediately inspired to create a similar space in Scotland.

“The House of Hope will be a haven providing a safe space, while offering connectivity, compassion and community.

Sue Fox, UK and Ireland president of Estee Lauder Companies, said: “We recognise the importance of providing women going through breast cancer with a safe space to heal, both physically and emotionally.

“We are inspired by the success of Future Dreams House in London and we are very excited to be extending our funding to the House of Hope, a similar project that will provide care and support to women in Scotland.

“By diversifying our support for women facing breast cancer across the UK, we hope to make a positive difference in more lives.”