Sally Nugent and Dan Walker pay tribute to Deborah James
‘We’ve been fortunate enough to have her on the sofa’: BBC Breakfast’s Sally Nugent and Dan Walker pay tribute to Deborah James as podcaster moves into hospice care due to bowel cancer
- On Monday Deborah shared a ‘goodbye’ message with her followers after revealing she had stopped receiving ‘active treatment’
- She said she was ‘mainly sleeping’, saying: ‘We have tried everything, but my body simply isn’t playing ball’
- Lorraine Kelly also shared her tearful reaction, admitting she thought she would ‘bounce back’ from the tragic diagnosis
BBC Breakfast presenters Sally Nugent and Dan Walker paid tribute to Deborah James on Tuesday’s episode.
The podcaster, 40, who has been living with stage four bowel cancer for five years, has raised over £1.5million through a GoFundMe that was started in the wake of her announcement she’s been moved to hospice care.
On Monday Deborah shared a ‘goodbye’ message with her followers after revealing she had stopped receiving ‘active treatment,’ and as she moves to hospice care ‘no one knows how long she has got left.’
Support: BBC Breakfast presenters Sally Nugent and Dan Walker paid tribute to Deborah James on Tuesday’s episode
Giving viewers an update on Deborah’s health, Dan said: ‘Now, many of you will know Deborah James.
‘She is the presenter of You, Me and the Big C podcast and she’s been on this programme many times as well.
‘We have been fortunate enough to have her not only on the sofa, but during the pandemic we spoke to her on numerous occasions, didn’t we?’
Sally then said: ‘That’s right, yes. Sadly, Deborah – who was diagnosed with bowel cancer five years ago – shared a message on her Instagram account yesterday saying she’s now been moved to hospice-at-home care.
Incredible: The podcaster, 40, who has been living with stage four bowel cancer for five years, has raised over £1.5million through a GoFundMe that was started in the wake of her announcement she’s been moved to hospice care
‘These are her words now: “The message I never wanted to write. We’ve tried everything, but my body simply isn’t playing ball.”‘
Dan said: ‘Deborah has now announced she’s set up the Bowel Babe fund in her name, to try and raise money for cancer research.
‘She included links to some of the charities closer to her, including Cancer Research UK, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Bowel Cancer UK.
‘And there’s been so much money, hasn’t there, donated? I think just over £700,000 already in the last few hours since she put that out last night, which is an incredible amount of money.
Dan said: ‘We have been fortunate enough to have her not only on the sofa, but during the pandemic we spoke to her on numerous occasions, didn’t we?’
‘I think the point was she wanted people to buy her a drink, but buy her a drink in terms of giving money to those charities.’
Sally then said: ‘Well, she is succeeding in that so far.’
The amount of money raised has since more than doubled from £700,000 to over £1.5million.
Dan and Sally’s words come after Susanna Reid fought back tears as she lauded ‘inspirational’ Deborah during Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain.
Touching: Dan and Sally’s words come after Susanna Reid fought back tears as she lauded ‘inspirational’ Deborah during Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain
Discussing her GoFundMe page for the newly-announced Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, Susanna added that she had also contributed to the vast amount.
Fighting back tears she added: ‘Absolutely terrific the impact she is having and we send our love to you.’
Calling Deborah ‘hugely inspirational and hugely influential,’ Susanna added: ‘Raising that amount will have an extremely positive effect.’
Charlotte Hawkins said: ‘Deborah, we salute you,’ while GMB’s medical expert Dr Hilary Jones noted campaigner has ‘undoubtedly saved many lives’ by raising awareness of bowel cancer.
Sad news: The BBC podcaster, who was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in 2016, revealed on Monday she’s ‘stopped active treatment’ and has been moved to hospice care
‘She is an extraordinary person. She has always tried to remove the stigma of bowel cancer with humour and good humour,’ he said.
‘She has fought against all odds and exhausted all active treatments. She’s beloved by the nation now, she really has made it fun.’
Lorraine Kelly also fought back tears while admitting she thought that Deborah would ‘bounce back’ despite her cancer diagnosis.
‘She’s amazing, isn’t she? Absolutely astonishing,’ she said, before referring to Deborah’s campaign to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
‘She’ll be absolutely thrilled and overjoyed with that! I thought, as I always do, that she would bounce back… but she’s getting very well looked after by everybody that loves her. So we’ll be talking about that today.’
After posting on Instagram about moving into a hospice, tributes have poured in for mother-of-two Deborah, celebrating her work raising awareness of bowel cancer, and helping ‘break the stigma’.
Susanna herself also offered her support, commenting: ‘You are the most incredible person. Sending my love to you and your family.
‘The fundraising will mean lasting change for others going through what you have borne with such strength and optimism. Outcomes will be different. Donating now.’
Important: Following the news that Deborah’s GoFundMe had raised over £900,000 in 24 hours, Susanna shared that she had also contributed to the vast amount
Her podcast co-host, Lauren Mahon, from You, Me and the Big C on Radio 5 Live, shared a lengthy tribute on Instagram, saying that hearts have been ‘shattered into thousands of pieces’ by Deborah’s announcement and are simultaneously ‘completely bursting with pride’.
And her GoFundMe page for the newly-announced Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK has raised more than £600,000 in less than 24 hours since it was set up.
At the start of the year, Deborah, who shares her children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, with her husband Sebastien, announced she had ‘nearly died’ in hospital, calling it the ‘hardest’ part of her 5-year cancer battle, and was admitted as an in-patient earlier this month.
Important: Calling Deborah ‘hugely inspirational and hugely influential,’ Susanna added: ‘Raising that amount will have an extremely positive effect’
Touching: Lorraine Kelly also fought back tears while admitting she thought that Deborah would ‘bounce back’ despite her cancer diagnosis
She shared an Instagram post earlier this evening saying ‘nobody knows how long she has left’, writing: ‘The message I never wanted to write. We have tried everything, but my body simply isn’t playing ball.
‘My active care has stopped and I am now moved to hospice at home care, with my incredible family all around me and the focus is on making sure I’m not in pain and spending time with them.’
She continued: ‘Nobody knows how long I’ve got left but I’m not able to walk, I’m sleeping most of the days, and most things I took for granted are pipe dreams. I know we have left no stone unturned.
In an emotional post shared to Instagram, Deborah said her body ‘was not playing ball’ and she was spending ‘most of the day sleeping’
Tragic news: In an emotional Instagram post on Monday, Deborah shared her ‘active treatment has stopped’ and she’s been moved to hospice care
‘But even with all the innovative cancer drugs in the world or some magic new breakthrough, my body just can’t continue anymore.’
‘In over 5 years of writing about how I thought it would be my final Christmas, how I wouldn’t see my 40th birthday nor see my kids go to secondary school – I never envisaged writing the one where I would actually say goodbye. I think it’s been the rebellious hope in me.’
Tributes to Deborah called her a ‘true inspiration’ and a ‘force to be reckoned with’ when it came to talking about bowel cancer.
Her podcast co-host, Lauren Mahon, shared a lengthy tribute on Instagram, saying that hearts have been ‘shattered into thousands of pieces’ by Deborah’s announcement and are simultaneously ‘completely bursting with pride’.
HOW DEPUTY HEAD TURNED SOCIAL MEDIA STAR HAS TRANSFORMED BOWEL CANCER AWARENESS
In 2018, Deborah (left) joined Lauren Mahon (front) and Rachael Bland (right) to present the award-winning podcast You, Me and the Big C on Radio 5 Live. Bland tragically died of breast cancer on September 5th that year; her husband Steve Bland now co-presents the show
- In December 2016, the West London mother-of-two, a deputy head, was diagnosed ‘late’ with incurable bowel cancer
- After sharing her experiences on living with the disease on social media, Deborah became known as the ‘Bowel Babe’
- In 2018, she became one of three presenters on Radio 5 Live’s You, Me and the Big C, which was conceived by her late co-host Rachael Bland
- On September 5th 2018, Welsh journalist and presenter Bland, diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, died at the age of 40
- Deborah and her co-host Lauren Mahon continue to present the show, with Steve Bland, Rachael’s husband, joining the duo
- On social media and in her column for the Sun newspaper, Deborah has documented the many chemo, radiotherapy sessions and surgery she’s had since
During her treatment, Deborah told followers on Instagram ‘By my general lack of being on here (dancing!), that Things have moved (in the wrong direction) very quickly cancer wise.’ Pictured: Deborah James undergoing a scan at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London
- In 2019, she had a procedure known as CyberKnife, a highly targeted form of radiotherapy to attack an inoperable lymph node close to her liver
- The pandemic’s impact on cancer services saw her campaign for care to continue as normal and, earlier this year, she launched the ITV’s Lorraine’s ‘No Butts’ campaign, raising awareness on bowel cancer symptoms
- Since last year, she has been taking new experimental drugs as part of a trial after her oncology team gave her the green light to do so
- August, Deborah revealed that scans she’s had in recent days have revealed her cancer has gone in the ‘wrong direction very quickly’
- She told followers she would be taking a break on social media over the weekend to ‘snuggle’ with her family ahead of more scans
- The mother-of-two said a new ‘rapidly-growing’ tumour near her liver had wrapped itself around her bowel
- On October 1, Deborah celebrates her 40th birthday
- By October 18, the mother-of-two told her followers her chemotherapy is working
- Days later, she was rushed to A&E with ‘spiking 40 degree temperatures’
- In November, she reveals she is unable to walk for more than 20 minutes and remains ‘very weak’
- By December, Deborah said she was ‘not sure what her options were’ after her liver stent ‘stopped working’
- In January, she had five operations in 10 days after nearly dying in an acute medical emergency
- January 25, Deborah returns home from hospital after three weeks
- March 14, the mother-of-two is back in hospital as an in-patient after suffering from septic infection
- In April, she concerned fans with snaps after suffering ‘a rough few days’
- April 14, the mother-of-two tells fans she has been discharged from hospital but calls the situation ‘very tough’
- April 27, she tells Lorraine that she has spent ’80 per cent’ of the year in hospital
- May 9 – Deborah announces she has moved to hospice care
Continuing her Instagram post, Deborah said: ‘But I don’t think anyone can say the last 6 months has exactly been kind! It’s all heartbreaking to be going through but I’m surrounded by so much love that if anything can help me through I hope that will.’
She went on to share news of a ‘Bowelbabe fund’ which is being set up in her name, writing: ‘I always knew there was one thing I always wanted to do before I died.
‘I have always over the years raised as much awareness and money for the charities that are closest to me. @cr_uk @royalmarsden @bowelcanceruk.
‘As a result, the @bowelbabefund is being established and I’d love nothing more than for you to help it flourish. Please visit bowelbabe.org for all the info and to donate (link in Bio).’
It has since raised more than £800,000 in less than 24 hours after it was launched, and will be spent on funding clinical trials and research into personalised medicine that could result in new treatments for cancer patients, and continued support to raise awareness of cancer.
Important: Since she publicly shared her bowel cancer diagnosis, Deborah made several appearances on ITV’s Lorraine
Tough time: Deborah spent months in hospital recovering after she almost died in January due to a medical emergency
Deborah continued in her social media post: ‘All I ask if you ever read a column, followed my Instagram, listened to the podcast or saw me dressed as a poo for no reason.
‘Please buy me a drink to see me out this world, by donating the cost to @bowelbabefund which will enable us to raise funds for further life saving research into cancer. To give more Deborah’s more time!’
As she finished the post, she wrote: ‘Right now for me it’s all about taking it a day at a time, step by step and being grateful for another sunrise.
BOWEL CANCER: THE SYMPTOMS YOU SHOULDN’T IGNORE
Bowel, or colorectal, cancer affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.
Such tumours usually develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps.
Symptoms include:
- Bleeding from the bottom
- Blood in stools
- A change in bowel habits lasting at least three weeks
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme, unexplained tiredness
- Abdominal pain
Most cases have no clear cause, however, people are more at risk if they:
- Are over 50
- Have a family history of the condition
- Have a personal history of polyps in their bowel
- Suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease
- Lead an unhealthy lifestyle
Treatment usually involves surgery, and chemo- and radiotherapy.
More than nine out of 10 people with stage one bowel cancer survive five years or more after their diagnosis.
This drops significantly if it is diagnosed in later stages.
According to Bowel Cancer UK figures, more than 41,200 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK.
It affects around 40 per 100,000 adults per year in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute.
‘My whole family are around me and we will dance through this together, sunbathing and laughing (I’ll cry!!) at every possible moment!
‘You are all incredible, thank you for playing your part in my journey. No regrets. Enjoy life. Deborah.’
It’s been a difficult year so far for the mother-of-two, who spent much of the last six months receiving in-patient treatment in hospital.
She has spent months recovering after she almost died in January due to a medical emergency.
In January, she said the ‘trauma’ of nearly dying was still ‘very raw and real’ as she returned home after three weeks in hospital.
Posting on Instagram earlier this year, the mother-of-two spoke of enduring the ‘hardest, most heartbreaking and scariest’ period of her cancer battle in the last week, which has involved three operations and ‘a lot more procedures’ to come.
She told how her husband watched as doctors fought to save her life after she ‘crashed’ in resuscitation.
A week ago at this time in the evening I nearly died in what was an acute medical emergency,’ she wrote. ‘I’m not ready to discuss what happened yet as the trauma of it all has been incredibly intense – but it’s thanks to an unbelievable team of NHS specialists who worked all through the night and the next day to save me.
‘I cannot be more grateful. I’m still not out of danger and I have a lot more procedures to deal with. But I’m now out of intensive care. And for the first time felt able to briefly update you.’
Sharing a photo of her giving a thumbs up from a hospital bed, she continued: ‘This is me yesterday having just come round from my 3rd operation this week. I have another operation tomorrow.
‘In five years of having stage four Cancer – this has been the hardest, most heartbreaking and scariest of them all. I’d always prepared for my death, but I wasn’t prepared for something so blindsiding and traumatic to happen.
‘I can’t quite believe I’m here to write this. A week ago my whole family was praying I’d pull through the night. I’m getting a lot of help and support to come to terms with the trauma I’ve been through.
‘My family have been incredible. I don’t know how my husband held it together seeing me crash as an army of doctors stabilised me in resus.’
Last year, James shared that her cancer, which has been kept at bay by pioneering treatment, was back again and she was forced to endure a 12th operation.
The West London mother-of-two, a deputy head, was diagnosed ‘late’ with incurable bowel cancer in 2016.
She has frequently said that as a vegetarian runner, she was the last person doctors expected to get the disease.
After sharing her experiences on living with the disease on social media, Deborah became known as the ‘Bowel Babe’ and began writing a column for the Sun.
In 2018, Deborah joined Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland to present the award-winning podcast You, Me and the Big C on Radio 5 Live.
Bland tragically died of breast cancer on September 5th that year; her husband Steve Bland now co-presents the show.
Scary: Deborah, who has incurable bowel cancer, revealed how she ‘nearly died’ in January in an ‘acute medical emergency’
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