A new CEO at ELF

Molly Southwood has joined ELF as the new CEO. She talks about why supporting patients living with blood cancers and blood disorders, and their families, is more important than ever. 

" The statistics are startling. Someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer every 16 minutes. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, someone in this country has received a life-changing diagnosis. 

Living with a blood disorder isn’t easy. Patients’ needs vary wildly and might depend on family circumstances, details of their diagnosis, and financial stability.  

And then there’s navigating what happens next. Just learning the new vocabulary is confusing; leukaemia, heamatology, oncology, blood disorders. Having cancer doesn’t just mean a diagnosis, it’s learning about yourself, about your diagnosis (or your loved one’s), how to manage the condition and how to access support. 

Over 40 years ago, Professor Miles Joyner realised that haematology patients needed specialised care on a dedicated ward. He worked tirelessly to raise the funds to make that happen.  

Since the opening of Yarty Ward, ELF has continued to grow and offer support to patients and their families, including the development of the Chevithorne Suite; a dedicated facility for haematology patients and their families to use. ELF is active in Exeter and across Devon, supporting patients with transport to hospital appointments, legal advice, signposting to other services and, perhaps most importantly, offering access to counselling services. 

I joined the organisation earlier this month and have been delighted to meet a team of dedicated, professional and extremely passionate colleagues who are absolutely committed to the work they do. Over 250,000 people in the UK are living with blood cancer and the efforts of ELF are more vital than ever before. I look forward to working closely with the team, the Trustees, the doctors, nurses and other hospital staff and of course the patients themselves. 

If you’d like to get in touch, please drop me a line at molly@elfcharity.org.uk "