Scotsman Obituaries: Dr Jen Hardy, founder of Cancer Card charity
Jen Hardy MBE, charity campaigner. Born: 7 June 1967 in Portobello. Died: 20 March 2026 in Edinburgh, aged 58
Jennifer Hardy (nee Scott) was born to John and Elizabeth in Portobello and lived her life in the city. Jen was middle child in a family of three and attended Dean Park Primary in Balerno and then Currie High School. Music played an important role in Jen’s early years, when she learned both piano and cello, and she took this passion with her into adult life.
Later, her studies in Computing at Stevenson College led onto an IT role at Edinburgh University for five years, later at the Royal Infirmary, and across a variety of contracting roles, before joining Heriot-Watt University in their timetabling team.
Jen shared a love of travel, music and exercise with her soulmate, Roddy Hardy. They married at St Philip’s in Joppa in 1995 and went on to have two daughters before the millennium. Family was always Jen’s anchor. She loved large gatherings, celebrations, and especially Christmas – singing together, playing games, and making memories in the way only families who truly enjoy being together can.
Jen always liked to do things her own way, unafraid to follow her instincts, even when they led her down unexpected paths.
Jen’s own experience of diagnosis was unexpected and impactful. In 2017 Jen was told she had metastatic breast cancer while on a business trip to the Middle East. While facing uncertainty and disruption she quickly focused on doing what she could, engaging with her amazing clinical team and finding a path through. It did not take long for Jen to find the silver lining and focus on what she could do for others.
Jen became an advocate, an active supporter of Breast Cancer Now, campaigning to ensure access to innovative treatments were made available via the Scottish Medicines Consortium. She was part of the community that supported access to better treatments for HER2-positive breast cancer, unlocking access to a new drug in January 2019 which had been turned down on three previous occasions.
She found navigating practical, emotional, financial and medical support harder than facing the illness itself. Instead of accepting that, she turned frustration into purpose, creating the trusted resource she wished had existed – a single place where anyone affected by cancer could quickly find clear, compassionate help. Jen poured her skills, lived experience and determination into building Cancer Card through treatment and exhaustion, and it soon gained national recognition.
In 2021 Cancer Card was launched. By 2022 it started making an impact on easing access to information for those diagnosed. Jen and a team of intrepid volunteers, supported by new CEO Ian Pirrie, began to build awareness of the charity. They achieved a lot in a very short time, forging partnerships with Social Security Scotland and NHS Inform, tackling the digital divide and gaining transformative corporate support.
At Cancer Card’s heart was always Jen herself: her empathy, humour, fierce advocacy and belief that no one should feel lost in their toughest moment. This inspired others to nominate her for an MBE, which she received in the King’s Birthday Honours’ list in 2023.
In the intervening years Jen and Roddy enjoyed their daughters experiencing marriage; graduations and the arrival of their first two grandchildren. Jen was loving and loved; she was passionate, loyal and committed; and she was first and always the heart of a family as daughter, wife and mother.
Jen rallied from her latest round of treatment for the Cancer Card Autumn Ball in November 2025. The following month she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Heriot-Watt University, where she and her father had both been respected employees.
New complications for Jen’s health came in 2026. A tumour in her chest caused increasing difficulties with breathing and speech, and despite surgery and further treatment, the burden on her body grew. Treatment was necessary, but it came at a cost, and her lungs became more fragile.
Twelve days before she died, Jen was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. Her condition changed day by day, and it became apparent that she was reaching the final days of her life.
With the support of the palliative care team, Jen’s discomfort was eased, and she died peacefully on 20 March, with family close by and farewells shared in quiet, loving moments. Her death created a wave of sadness across the cancer community, but Cancer Card’s staff and volunteers are determined to carry on her vision and build on the inspirational foundations and ensure her legacy in the years ahead.
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