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In a new documentary airing posthumously, Dame Deborah James opens up on feeling ‘scared’ as her body stopped ‘playing ball’ amid her battle with bowel cancer.
The beloved campaigner, known by her social media handle Bowelbabe and as a presenter of the You, Me And The Big C podcast, had been diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in 2016 and was told early on that she may not live beyond five years.
She tragically died last June at the age of 40, five years after being diagnosed with the disease.
Her Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK has now reached £11.3million through its online appeal and her family’s fundraising, while her legacy continues and a new BBC documentary airing posthumously showcases her battle.
In it, Dame Deborah’s voice notes and videos, as well as social media posts, feature alongside never before seen footage and interviews with her loved ones.
In one clip, Dame Deborah describes her body giving up and feeling ‘scared’.
She says: ‘I think the last week I’ve processed what I knew what was coming in the last five years.
‘I’ve got to the point that I’ve kind of feel like I’ve been playing with the devil and I think, you know when you think, “Oh no it’s caught up with me now”.’
She continues, in the video taken in her garden: ‘My liver is not working now, she says currently drinking champagne with rosé.
‘I’m getting so weak, and my body just can’t do it anymore.’
‘I’ve tried so hard for five years,’ she tearfully adds.
‘I’m still trying really hard but my body just doesn’t want to play ball anymore.
‘And that’s what’s really scary about it, I’ve gone from somebody who used to run five kilometres a day, to somebody who needs her husband to pick her up.’
Elsewhere in the documentary, Dame Deborah continues to work to raise awareness of bowel cancer, telling viewers: ‘Also check your poo. Come on, I can’t leave on any other word apart from check your poo.’
Deborah James: Bowelbabe In Her Own Words airs on Monday, April 17 at 9pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
Donate to Dame Deborah James’ Bowelbabe fund
You, Me & The Big C podcast host Dame Deborah James has admirably raised money towards cancer charities after announcing that her own bowel cancer was now terminal.
She is now receiving end-of-life hospice care at home due to her cancer treatment being stopped last month.
With the support of Cancer Research UK (CRUK), Dame Deborah and her family established the Bowelbabe Fund, with all money raised to be allocated to funding clinical trials and research into personalised medicine that could result in new treatments for cancer patients, including projects in collaboration with partners such as The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden. Donations will also go towards continued support to raise awareness of cancer, such as Bowel Cancer UK’s Never Too Young campaign.
At the start of June, the fund had so far raised £6.6million to go towards clinical trials and research into personalised medicine for cancer patients and supporting campaigns to raise awareness of bowel cancer.
You can donate via the Just Giving link here.
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