This is a joint initiative raising funds and awareness for two charities -
Exeter Leukaemia Fund and Macmillan Cancer Support

Exeter Leukaemia Fund (ELF) is a charity that was set up over 20 years ago. ELF supports the excellent work of the Haematology Centre based at the RD&E Hospital, Exeter, for the benefit of patients in Devon and beyond. The ultimate vision is to try and make leukaemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders history in the South West.

ELF provides funds for three key areas; equipment, patient care and research. ELF contributed 2 thirds of the cost of the Haematology Centre itself and has to raise £500,000 a year to maintain it.

Here are just a few examples of what Exeter Leukaemia Fund has purchased for the centre over the last few years;

Equipment    
  •   FACS Machines - help researchers to study specific cells based on their immunological qualities
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  •   Graseby Pumps - which infuse both chemotherapy and blood


    • Patient Care    
  •   Counsellor and Aromatherapist - both on hand to patients when needed. The ELF counsellor also provides a service to family members affected by the emotions that come when a loved one is sick or passes away
    •    
  •   Wii Games Consoles - for the isolation rooms; to relieve boredom and stress and to help patients regain gentle physical activity


    • Research    
  •   Fund scientists and students to undertake haematological research projects including molecular genetics studies.
    •    
  •   Further Education - including Degree Courses for Haematology nursing staff; to invest in the future of the Centre.



    • Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. One in three of us will get cancer. We are all affected by cancer. We can all help. We are Macmillan.

    As treatments improve, more and more people are living with cancer in their daily lives. This means they need more than medical help, they also need practical, emotional and financial support.

    We are a source of support, helping with all the things that people affected by cancer want and need. It's not only patients who live with cancer, so we also help carers, families and communities. We guide people through the system, supporting them every step of the way. We fund nurses and other specialist health care professionals and build cancer care centres and information centres. But we give so much more than medical help.

    People need practical support at home, so we provide anything from some precious time off for a carer, to a lift to hospital. People need emotional support, so we listen, advise and share information though our cancer support specialists, website and trained professionals. People need financial help to cope with the extra costs cancer can bring, so we give benefits advice, and grants for anything from heating bills to travel costs. Together we listen, we learn, we act to help people live with cancer.
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