World Book Day Blog

Books are incredibly powerful. 

They provide us with hope, they make us cry and they make us laugh. 

They have the ability to take us to another world, to another time or to another place. 

They help us to escape the world that we are in, providing a temporary escape to whatever we are facing or dealing with at that time. 

For patients at the Haematology Centre, they also help to pass the time. 

Treatment for blood cancer and other blood conditions can take many hours and books provide an escape for patients during this time.  

Late last year, we introduced a book stand attached to our Filling Time kiosk. The book stand provides free books to patients and their families while they wait for and undergo their treatment and has proven incredibly popular. A recent patient told us. “The book stand is great because there isn’t much else to do while I have my treatment.” 

The books are available for free, with patients and their relatives encouraged to swap books or to make a voluntary donation, which helps us to deliver our vital services for blood cancer patients in Devon. 

Marion, ELF Patient Liaison Officer, helped set up the book stand. She said, “I set up the ELF book corner with the intention of providing patients and their families with  a space where they could find distraction and a moment of respite during what can be an incredibly challenging time.  Whether it’s to pass the time during long appointments, ease the anxiety of delays or simply escape into a good book, the corner has offered a small but meaningful source of relief.  Patients have told me it has made a real difference, helping them to feel more at ease and giving them something positive to focus on amid their treatment journey” 

This World Book Day, ELF are celebrating the power of books and the role that they play in the treatment journey of patients living with blood cancer across Devon.