The final message from Dame Deborah James was: “Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo – it could just save your life.”
Following her 2016 colon cancer diagnosis, the 40-year-old former deputy headteacher turned podcaster actively promoted bowel cancer awareness on social media.
She was involved in charities, and on the BBC podcast ‘You, Me, and The Big C’. The podcaster has received tributes from James’ family as well as others in politics, the entertainment sector, and other fields.
Days before Christmas in 2016, the mother-of-two, also known as BowelBabe to her hordes of Instagram followers, received the devastating news that her bowel cancer was terminal. She was 35 years old.
Deborah surpassed the odds set against her despite being given an 8% probability of living five years.
The courageous campaigner celebrated the five-year mark a few months after turning 40 in October—a birthday she never imagined she would survive to see.
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Bowel Cancer
Following a 24-hour petition drive started by Sun readers last month, Deborah received a damehood.
The announcement of damehoods and knighthoods often occurs only twice a year, during the Queen’s Birthday or New Year’s Honours ceremonies.
What is bowel cancer? Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, develops from the inner lining of the bowel and is usually preceded by growths called polyps, which may become invasive cancer if undetected. Depending on where the cancer begins, bowel cancer may be called colon or rectal cancer.
Finding out you have terminal bowel cancer
When cancer is advanced, it means that it can’t be cured and is likely to cause death within a limited period of time. The amount of time is difficult to predict, but it could be weeks to several months. Doctors might also say that the illness is ‘terminal’.
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