If you have contacted Ask Eve over the last two years, you will have spoken to Helen, and you will know just how warm, open and kind she is and the sheer dedication she brings to her role running the Ask Eve Nurse service.
Helen joined The Eve Appeal in 2021 after leaving her role as Assistant Director of Nursing at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust when she was diagnosed with advanced womb cancer. Helen started off as a consultant making recommendations on how we can improve the service, and then joined us officially as the Ask Eve Nurse Co-ordinator, running Ask Eve, a free and confidential service that anyone can contact for advice and information about their gynae health or the health of a loved one.
Her courage, vision and determination to include the voices of women with gynae cancer in everything we do at Eve, and to make the Ask Eve service as accessible and inclusive as possible is a huge inspiration to us, and we are so grateful to Helen for all of the knowledge and skills she has brought to us. Eve CEO, Athena couldn’t be prouder of the Ask Eve service, and Helen, she says: “When you contact Ask Eve, you know that you will speak to someone who ‘gets it’. Helen really gets it and this award is testament to the brilliant and much-needed service and also to the outstanding person who leads it.”
The difference Helen has made can be seen in the heartfelt feedback we constantly receive from users of the Ask Eve service:
“What a great service, especially in these very difficult times in the NHS, were all services are very stretched, so nice to talk with someone so understanding and helpful.”
“This is a very important service for women who are going through OBYGN issues and do not have access to direct information from a provider in the NHS due to long waiting times and such services not offered. It is a very personal service and you feel comfortable sharing and trust that someone with expertise will get back to you in a timely way. A lifeline to many.”
As Ask Eve becomes increasingly in demand, Helen is busier than ever and has supported double the amount of people in 2023 as she did last year, and she shows no signs of stopping. Helen continues to put her heart and soul into supporting women worried about their gynae symptoms or living with cancer, even when juggling her own treatment.
Helen loves being a nurse and is proud of the work she does: “Being a nurse is the best job! It is a unique privilege to care for and make a positive difference to a person and their loved ones at a time in their life, often when they are at their most vulnerable and need support, care and compassion.
I love working at The Eve Appeal, we are a small but dedicated and passionate team who are committed to make gynae cancers a thing of the past. It is great to have the time to spend properly listening and empathising with our contacts to Ask Eve. I have the opportunity to use my professional skills and knowledge alongside my own personal experience to support and offer evidence-based information to those worried about their gynae health. Seeing the service develop over the last 18 months and knowing that we are making a real difference is so rewarding.”
We could not be more grateful to have Helen on the team and we are all so proud of her and delighted to see all of her hard work being recognised with an MBE. Congratulations Helen!