BBC podcast host Deborah James has passed away following her five-year battle with bowel cancer, her family has announced.
Sharing the news to Instagram, her loved ones wrote: ‘We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Dame Deborah James; the most amazing wife, daughter, sister, mummy. Deborah passed away peacefully today, surrounded by her family.’
The former deputy head teacher turned cancer campaigner, 40, from west London, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2016, and was told early on that she might not live beyond five years – a milestone that passed in the autumn of 2021.
Deborah, parent to Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, with her husband Sebastien, was constantly labelled ‘inspirational’ by fans after candidly sharing her struggles on social media, as well as on Radio 5 Live’s You, Me and the Big C, of which she was one of three presenters.
On May 9, the mother-of-two shared a heartbreaking ‘goodbye’ message to her 470,000 Instagram followers, revealing she was being moved into hospice-at-home care, while ‘surrounded by family’, because ‘my body simply isn’t playing ball.’
While she said at the time that no one knew how long she may live, she recently revealed she was given just days when she was released from hospital last month.
Deborah – who insisted she had left ‘no stone unturned’ during her search for ‘magic medicine miracle’ – also launched her Bowelbabe Fund for cancer research, which received more than £6.5 million in donations.
She was made a dame by the Duke of Cambridge at her family home, with William praising her for ‘going above and beyond to make a very special memory’.
He later called her ‘incredible’ telling staff at the Royal Marsden who had treated her: ‘She is a brave and inspirational woman.’
BBC podcast host Deborah James has passed away following her five-year battle with bowel cancer, her family has announced in an Instagram post, which included this above photo
The death of podcast host and mother-of-two Dame Deborah James at the age of 40 was announced by her family on Instagram
‘And a few final things from Deborah…”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,”‘ the post read
The Instagram post also included a video of Deborah dancing (pictured), while wearing a lace detailed white frock during a previous holiday
BBC podcast host Deborah James has passed away following her five-year battle with bowel cancer, her family has announced
In recent weeks, she was made a dame by the Duke of Cambridge at her family home, with William praising her for ‘going above and beyond to make a very special memory’
On May 9, the mother-of-two shared a heartbreaking ‘goodbye’ message to her 470,000 Instagram followers, revealing she was being moved into hospice-at-home care, while ‘surrounded by family’, because ‘my body simply isn’t playing ball’
In recent weeks, Deborah made the most of her time, going for days out, which were exhausting due to her condition. However, she remained positive, and posted about how much she enjoyed outings, like this one to Royal Ascot
And she certainly made the most of the weeks she had while in hospice care, going on outings, and making memories with loved ones.
These trips included watching opera at Glyndebourne, enjoying a trip after hours to the Chelsea Flower Show and lunch at the £700-a-night Beaverbrook estate in Leatherhead, Surrey.
She also had a day out at the races, going to Royal Ascot – just 30 minutes drive from her parents’ Woking home – in mid-June, with family members including her brother Benjamin and his fiancee Ashley Hall.
Writing about the trip on Instagram, Deborah said: ‘Yesterday was really special as with a lot of effort and help I actually made it to Ascot Race Course once again.
‘I honestly have to pinch myself that I’ve been well enough each day to do something like this. Another favourite I’d had in mind and a fab milestone to say “ain’t dead yet!”.’
Before her diagnosis, Deborah was an ambitious deputy head teacher who’d been brought in to turn around a failing comprehensive in Surrey. She also had two young children to bring up.
It meant she and her banker husband of more than 10 years, Sebastien, were always stressed and barely saw each other. ‘It was a classic case of our marriage coming last,’ she told The Daily Mail in February 2020.
Sebastien moved out in 2015 and they embarked on an initially ‘acrimonious’ divorce, both hiring lawyers and starting to see other people. Deborah even went on some ‘hideous’ Tinder dates.
They’d already had the decree nisi when they agreed to counselling, not with any hope of a reconciliation, but simply to be on more cordial terms for the children. Then, to Deborah’s astonishment, the pair began having drinks, then dinner, after the sessions.
In November 2016, they made ‘a big step’ and got back together, only for Deborah to receive her shock diagnosis soon after.
‘One of the good things about cancer is it makes you reassess your relationship. It’s crunch time. You think: ‘Do I really want to be with this person?’
‘And if you don’t, then it’s ‘Bye!’ as life really is short. But cancer can also make you realise how special your connection is, and that’s where we are: in a good place,’ Deborah said.
Deborah was diagnosed ‘late’ with incurable bowel cancer in 2016. She had frequently said that as a vegetarian runner, she was the last person doctors expected to get the disease.
A recent Instagram story shared by the cancer campaigner revealed that her father brushed her hair, with Deborah saying she had ‘no strength’ to do it
The former deputy head teacher turned cancer campaigner, 40, from west London, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2016, and was told early on that she might not live beyond five years – a milestone that passed in the autumn of 2021
Deborah (pictured with her children), parent to Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, with her husband Sebastien, was constantly labelled ‘inspirational’ by fans after candidly sharing her struggles on social media, as well as on Radio 5 Live’s You, Me and the Big C, of which she was one of three presenters
Deborah and her husband Sebastien Bowen in April 2019. The mother-of-two said she had left ‘no stone unturned’ when it came to her treatment
After sharing her experiences on living with the illness on social media, Deborah became known as the ‘Bowel Babe’ and in 2018, she 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 5 that year; her husband Steve Bland now co-presents the show.
It had been a difficult year for Deborah, who in previous years had defied the odds by running 5K races and taking part in triathlons.
However, she told Lorraine Kelly earlier this year that she spent ’80 per cent’ of it in hospital receiving treatment after suffering sepsis and a traumatic varicose vein bleed.
In January, she said the ‘trauma’ of nearly dying from the bleed was still ‘very raw and real’ as she returned home after three weeks in hospital.
After sharing her experiences on living with the illness on social media, Deborah became known as the ‘Bowel Babe’ and in 2018, she joined Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland to present the award-winning podcast You, Me and the Big C on Radio 5 Live
Speaking on her You, Me and the Big C podcast with co-host Steve Bland, Deborah said: ‘I was in a state, an absolute state. I was flummoxed. I can’t describe it. I just survived something I never thought… I thought that was it. I thought I was a goner.
‘How do you process that I said my goodbyes, I thought that was it, I thought that was the end of my life, how do you stop reliving that trauma? I did not know what to do with myself.
HOW DEPUTY HEAD TURNED SOCIAL MEDIA STAR TRANSFORMED BOWEL CANCER AWARENESS
- 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 5 2018, Welsh journalist and presenter Bland, diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, died at the age of 40
- Deborah and her co-host Lauren Mahon continued 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 documented the many chemo, radiotherapy sessions and surgery she’d had since
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
- 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 had been taking new experimental drugs as part of a trial after her oncology team gave her the green light to do so
- In August, Deborah revealed that scans she’d had in recent days revealed her cancer had 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 celebrated her 40th birthday
- By October 18, the mother-of-two told her followers her chemotherapy was working
- Days later, she was rushed to A&E with ‘spiking 40 degree temperatures’
- In November, she revealed she is unable to walk for more than 20 minutes and remained ‘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
- On January 25, Deborah returned home from hospital after three weeks
- On March 14, the mother-of-two was 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’
- On April 14, the mother-of-two told fans she had been discharged from hospital but called the situation ‘very tough’
- On April 27, she told Lorraine Kelly that she had spent ’80 per cent’ of the year in hospital
- On May 9, Deborah announced she had moved to hospice care
‘And it’s amazing how you suddenly go back to the things you realise you can do, which is to chat into a microphone or write – whatever your normal coping mechanism are even in a crisis.
‘I’m always somebody that has to have a bit of a purpose so I was like: ‘If I’m going through this I need each and every day to find a purpose’. Obviously the purpose is to live but it also gave me a structure during the day. It gave me something to do (in hospital).
‘I thought I feel so awful, not just physically, but mentally. I thought I knew what rock bottom was. I thought I knew what tough was and I didn’t. I cracked – there’s no embarrassment in saying that. I hit a new low that I never knew existed.’
Posting on Instagram earlier this year, the mother-of-two spoke of enduring the ‘hardest, most heartbreaking and scariest’ period of her cancer battle. 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 5 years of having stage 4 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.’
After thanking followers for their support, she added: ‘Do me a favour and go tell your loved ones how much you love them. To realise in a sudden split moment that you are unlikely to see the next day is utterly heartbreaking. Have no regrets.’
When discussing how difficult the last six months have been, Deborah said while she was really happy that the ‘big gun chemo’ she endured had slowed her cancer’s growth, which had been ‘on the march’, it had been an exhausting time.
In the summer, Deborah was told she had an aggressive new tumour that had wrapped itself around her bile duct – requiring a life-saving stay in hospital – and a stent fitted to stop her liver from failing. The stent fitted to stop her liver failing ‘stopped working’ in December.
She explained to her followers at the time how hopes at having a ‘quick replacement operation’ had turned into a ‘nightmare’.
She said: ‘I’m now at the mercy of hopefully some super ‘magic medicine miracle’ – but then I always have been, and any chance is a chance right? All I ever say is all I want is hope and options.’
Last year, Deborah shared that her cancer, which had been kept at bay by pioneering treatment, was back again.
In January 2020, she had explained that scans showed she had no evidence of cancer in her body at that point – with doctors suggesting she was ‘rewriting the textbook’ – but in April 2021, she revealed her cancer was back again.
Writing in Fabulous, Deborah explained: ‘The results aren’t a s*** show. The good news is my liver, lungs, bowel and chest are all clear. But my cancer has a habit of being awkward and it’s thrown me another challenge, a roadblock we need to navigate around.’
She went on to explain that three years ago she underwent a procedure known as CyberKnife – a highly targeted form of radiotherapy which targeted an inoperable lymph node close to her liver.
The surgery was a success and the cancer became inactive. But while Deborah continued undergoing daily targeted drug therapy to keep the cancer at bay, she told how just as lockdown restrictions in the UK started easing, her cancer ‘wanted in on the party’ and started waking up.
In September 2021, Deborah urged those at home to go to the doctor if they felt something wasn’t right when speaking to BBC News – after admitting she regretted ‘not getting to the GP earlier’.
‘It’s not about scaremongering. It’s about if you’re sat at home right now, you need to know your body and get it checked out sooner rather than later,’ she insisted.
‘I live with incurable bowel cancer and I put off my own diagnosis with bowel cancer. You assume at that age you’re too young to be diagnosed. By the time I was, I had late stage bowel cancer.
‘I’m very grateful to be approaching five years, but I know that I’m smashing every statistic to do that.
‘The key message is actually cancer is survivable. More people will survive 10 years after they are diagnosed with cancer than die from it, but that’s because of where we’re moving in terms of catching things early.
‘The first step in doing that is for people sat at home to recognise it has to start with them and we have to come forward. It’s not putting the blame back, I’ve personally beaten myself up about regretting not getting to the GP earlier.’
In January 2020, she had explained that scans showed she had no evidence of cancer in her body at that point – with doctors suggesting she was ‘rewriting the textbook’ – but in April 2021, she revealed her cancer was back again
Despite ongoing cancer treatments over the last few years, Deborah has continued living life to the full, holidaying with her family and dancing in the rain
The former headteacher (pictured right, with children Eloise, 12, Hugo, 14 and husband Sebastien Bowen) was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016
The loyal husband who’s been Deborah James’s ‘backbone’: Banker Sebastien Bowen danced BBC podcaster ‘back into the light’ in her darkness moments – after cancelling their divorce weeks before her cancer diagnosis
He’s the man she calls her ‘rock’, her ‘blanket’ and her ‘very backbone’ after cancer made Deborah James realise how ‘special’ the connection she shares with her banker husband Sebastien is.
But if things had worked out differently, the BBC podcaster, 40, would have been facing her five-year cancer battle as a single woman.
The pair, who have been married since July 2008, and share son Hugo, 14, and daughter, Eloise, 12, were in the midst of divorce proceedings in 2016, before rekindling their relationship a month before Deborah’s diagnosis of incurable bowel cancer.
Now, the ‘bowel babe’ has urged her City banker husband, 42, to find love after her death, with the caveat: ‘Don’t be taken for a ride, don’t marry a bimbo’.
Deborah James (left) is pictured on her July 2008 wedding day to banker Sebastien Bowen
The pair, who have been married since July 2008, and share son Hugo, 14, and daughter, Eloise, 12, and were set to split in 2016 before rekindling their romance shortly before Deborah’s diagnosis of bowel cancer. They are pictured on their anniversary in 2009
Before her diagnosis, Deborah was an ambitious deputy head teacher who’d been brought in to turn around a failing comprehensive in Surrey.
It meant she and Sebastien, were always stressed and barely saw each other. ‘It was a classic case of our marriage coming last,’ she told the Daily Mail in 2020.
Sebastien moved out in 2015 and they embarked on an initially ‘acrimonious’ divorce, both hiring lawyers and starting to see other people. Deborah even went on some ‘hideous’ Tinder dates.
They’d already had the decree nisi when they agreed to counselling, not with any hope of a reconciliation, but simply to be on more cordial terms for the children.
Writing on his 40th birthday in 2019, Deborah shared this sweet picture and wrote: ‘Happy 40th to this brilliant man. So proud of you. Thanks for being my rock and my blanket. For being there in sickness, in health, in the fun times and the bad times. We love you’
Then, to Deborah’s astonishment, the pair began having drinks, then dinner, after the sessions.
In November 2016, they made ‘a big step’ and got back together, only for Deborah to receive her shock diagnosis soon after.
‘Some days I crave the attention, just wanting to feel desired,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘Other days, my husband can’t sneeze near me without getting his head bitten off. Understandably navigating that — for both of us — is hard.’
However, she says, ‘One of the good things about cancer is it makes you reassess your relationship. It’s crunch time. You think: “Do I really want to be with this person?” And if you don’t, then it’s ‘Bye!’ as life really is short.
Bowel babe’ has urged her City banker beau to find love after her death, with the caveat: ‘Don’t be taken for a ride, don’t marry a bimbo’. They are pictured dancing on their anniversary in the south of France
Sebastien moved out in 2015 and they embarked on an initially ‘acrimonious’ divorce, both hiring lawyers and starting to see other people. Deborah even went on some ‘hideous’ Tinder dates, but later rekindled their romance
‘But cancer can also make you realise how special your connection is, and that’s where we are: in a good place.’
Sebastien will now face raising their two children alone, while balancing his career as a banker.
The University of Edinburgh graduate works for Pomona Capital, a Mayfair-based private equity firm and previously was a director at MetLife Investments.
In August, Deborah shared a sweet video of the pair dancing together in the South of France with a sweet caption thanking her husband for ‘holding her hand in the darkness and dancing her back into the light’.
In November 2016, they made ‘a big step’ and got back together, only for Deborah to receive her shock diagnosis soon after. They are pictured at a festival
Sebastien will now face raising their two children alone, while balancing his career as a banker. The University of Edinburgh graduate works for Pomona Capital, a Mayfair-based private equity firm and previously was a director at MetLife Investments. They are pictured on holiday
She wrote: ’13 Years of marriage. My Rock.
‘It was our wedding anniversary earlier this week. Some days the weight of what that means in an uncertain future can be too much.
‘Then it’s the closing of new day. A new day you are grateful to see. A new day you didn’t think you’d feel well in. And you dance. As your lids laugh and film. The sun sets, and you realise how wonderful it is to reach another milestone (and you park the sadness).
‘And you smile. And you are at one in the moment only. Because for any of us that’s all we ever have anyway. And you give thanks to have people in your life that are the very back bone you remain upright on.
‘Sebastien – Thank you for holding my hand in the darkness and dancing me back into the light. I love you. Always’.
Sebastien, who attended the £13,788-a-term St Paul’s School in west London has an impressive career with 20 years of primary and secondary fund investing experience.
The couple often celebrate their anniversary and take moments to be romantic (pictured in the south of France)
The couple often celebrate their anniversary and take moments to be romantic.
In 2019, Deborah shared a sweet picture of the pair kissing at a London bar writing: ’11 years ago today we “officially” got married.
‘We then had our wedding a few weeks later in France so we normally celebrate then and @sebastienbowen always remembers the correct date (it’s the 26th!!)- but any excuse for a nice meal and a cheeky snog?!
‘I don’t do cheesy declarations very well – but I love this man very much so. Thanks for being my rock.’
She often posts sweet pictures and tributes to her husband on social media, on his 40th birthday in 2019 she wrote: ‘Happy 40th to this brilliant man. So proud of you. Thanks for being my rock and my blanket. For being there in sickness, in health, in the fun times and the bad times. We love you”
On another occasion she shared a picture of the pair kissing in Kew Gardens with the caption: ’12 years ago I said yes in this same spot’.
On another occasion she shared a picture of the pair kissing in Kew Gardens with the caption: ’12 years ago I said yes in this same spot’.
Sebastien, who attended the £13,788-a-term St Paul’s School in west London has an impressive career with 20 years of primary and secondary fund investing experience.
Deborah says she has written letters for her children to help them with their first dates and wedding days, and will buy Hugo ‘a nice pen or wallet or cufflinks’ and Eloise ‘Tiffany bracelets and earrings’ to remember her – as well as some presents and postcards from her for the future.
And her funeral is also planned where she will be cremated, but she hopes her ashes will be kept in the family kitchen ‘for a while’ before being scattered.
Taking to her Instagram page in May to share news she was moving to hospice care, Deborah wrote: ‘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.
‘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. 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.
‘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 her 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).’
‘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. 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.’
Deborah had originally aimed to raise £250,000 with her fund – but within hours the total had rocketed beyond that target and within 24 hours it had reached more than £1million.
After seeing the amount raised, the podcast host took to her Instagram stories to say she was ‘utterly blown away’ by the generosity of those who had backed her fundraising drive. She wrote: ‘I never in my wildest dreams thought we’d be waking up to this total 12 hours later. I’m actually crying!’
When she was made Dame Deborah on May 13 for her campaigning, she posted pictures of Prince William with herself and her family on Instagram and has said the visit gave her family ‘so much to smile about in the sadness’.
In a post on Instagram, she said: ‘I believe I may have had the most surreal, mind blowing, humbling five days of my life.
‘My family are being amazing and as emotional as it all is, we are finding so much to smile about in the sadness.
‘I may be getting weaker and more tired each tired having run off pure adrenaline, but my word, I always said I wanted to slide in sideways when my time is up, with a massive smile, no regrets and a big glass of champagne! Still my intention!!!’
In a personal tweet written by William and Kate, they said: ‘Every now and then, someone captures the heart of the nation with their zest for life & tenacious desire to give back to society.
Deborah was diagnosed ‘late’ with incurable bowel cancer in 2016. She had frequently said that as a vegetarian runner, she was the last person doctors expected to get the disease
‘@bowelbabe is one of those special people. Her tireless efforts to raise awareness of bowel cancer & end the stigma of treatment are inspiring.
‘We are so sad to hear her recent update but pleased to support the @bowelbabef, which will benefit the @royalmarsdenNHS among others.
‘Deborah, our thoughts are with you, your family and your friends. Thank you for giving hope to so many who are living with cancer. W & C.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘If ever an honour was richly deserved, this is it.’
Later, Prince William praised ‘brilliant, brave and inspirational’ bowel babe Dame Deborah James as he met some of the staff who treated her.
Speaking to patient Lorraine Kimber, 59, from Essex, who is currently undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer and knows Mrs James well, at the Royal Marsden Hospital, he said: ‘She was incredible, incredible. She was surrounded by her family, we had a lovely afternoon.
‘You know she’s had over 100 tumours. Which is unbelievable. I couldn’t believe that. The resilience you have to have to keep going back again, it’s got to be very draining on you.’
He later said ‘She was on amazing form when I saw her. She was joking…because they are a very tight family, very close, you could see that….she was joking that at last she could now drink.
How her mother’s love kept Deborah James going: ‘Bowel gran’, 64, who ‘relentlessly nursed’ BBC podcaster back to health ‘again, and again and again’
Deborah’s mother Heather, grandmother-to-four and mother-to-three, was a constant support for the former deputy head teacher turned cancer campaigner, who had been living with stage four bowel cancer since she was diagnosed in December 2016.
She has been by her side during countless hospital stays, joined in with Deborah’s viral ‘chemo dances’, in which the pair would shake a leg to help the presenter get through another chemotherapy cycle, and cared for her grandchildren ‘at the drop of a hat’.
Happier times: Heather James pictured with her daughter Deborah James and her grandchild Eloise
Heather has ‘relentlessly nursed’ Deborah (pictured together), 40, back to health ‘again, and again and again’
Heather (pictured), grandmother-to-four and mother-to-three, has been a constant support for the former deputy head teacher turned cancer campaigner, who has been living with stage four bowel cancer since she was diagnosed in December 2016
Deborah previously posted a video as she danced to Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees in the garden with her mother while wearing matching outfits (pictured)
Heather – who is a pre-school gymnastic coach – has also ensured Deborah’s fans are kept up-to-date with her condition, by sharing updates on her own Instagram page @bowelgran, and stepped in for her daughter when she was too unwell to make events.
One such occasion was to launch the ‘No Butts’ campaign alongside Lorraine Kelly, which aimed to raise awareness of bowel cancer on the Scottish host’s daytime programme from 19 April to 5 May.
Praising her mother’s appearance, Deborah said on Instagram: ‘I’m so proud of my mum today for stepping in to help launch the #NoButts campaign with @lorraine.
‘This campaign is something I’m so passionate about. So of course I’m gutted not to be well enough to be there in person (yet!).’
In her final You, Me and the Big C podcast, released earlier this month, Deborah (left) emotionally said goodbye to her faithful listeners and revealed she had decided to live out her days at her parents’ bungalow in Woking to spare her children Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12, from constant reminders in their London home
Heather has ensured Deborah’s fans are kept up-to-date with her condition, by sharing updates on her own Instagram page @bowelgran, and stepped in for her daughter when she was too unwell to make events, such as this Lorraine appearance on TV, pictured
Deborah was equally full of praise for her mother on Heather’s birthday last year, writing online: ‘Thank you for everything you do for all of us, especially for relentlessly nursing me back to health, again, and again and again!
‘From hiding in my hospital room to ensure I get my drugs, to sleeping on the sofa with me when I’m scared, to cutting up my toast into tiny squares so I can just nibble them when not hungry!
‘To being there for my kids at the drop of a hat, and for being up for any form of dancing, fashion parade or crazy game I come up with! I’m fully aware where I get most of my “quirky” traits from!
‘I’m hoping you can spend the day not worrying about me,’ she concluded.
Heather (pictured right) has been by her side during countless hospital stays, joined in with Deborah’s viral ‘chemo dances’, in which the pair would shake a leg to help the presenter get through another chemotherapy cycle, and cared for her grandchildren ‘at the drop of a hat’
The following day, Deborah posted a video as she danced to Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees in the garden with her mother while wearing matching outfits.
‘It’s chemo dance time! You know each cycle I dance whilst attached to the pump,’ she explained in her caption.
‘But with with my kids in France, my mum has stepped up this time! Seeing as she’s literally been nursing me every second for the last month, keeping me alive, I don’t think there could ever be a more apt routine!!’
‘Here’s to another chemo cycle and to mothers helping us through them,’ wrote the mother-of-two.
In January, Heather shared a snap to Instagram showing her posing with her daughter in a hospital bed as she explained that the presenter had undergone five operations in 10 days following a medical emergency during which she almost died.
She said: ‘How she does it time and time again blows me away. It’s early hours, but it went to plan.
‘The aim was to internalised her bile stent if it was working which so far it seems to be.
In her final podcast, Deborah (pictured with her mother) revealed she had decided to live out her days at her parents’ bungalow in Woking to spare her children from constant reminders in their London home – and because she can’t get up the stairs to use the lavatory
‘Obviously now she’s kept under close monitoring but she’s really happy (and emotional) because she has no drains for the first time in weeks.
‘We just have to pray she remains stable for the foreseeable future now. Due to the operation today, I was allowed to see her briefly as her nominated visitor – which I’m grateful for.’
Heather continued: ‘Visiting in Covid is a really hard balance and it’s heartbreaking that families can’t see their loved ones more – I can’t imagine what families went through in full lock down (including in our own family).
‘Deborah certainly needs the support hence why I was allowed in, but risk has to be kept super low.
‘Mental health is so important though, we can’t underestimate how it helps with recovery. I see it with Deborah. I recall times pre Covid when I used to sleep in the same room over night!
‘As is usual she asked for her make up as soon as she came round which is always a good sign!’ She went on to hashtag the post with #MotherDaughter and #OneDayAtATime.
In her final podcast, Deborah revealed she had decided to live out her days at her parents’ bungalow in Woking to spare her children from constant reminders in their London home – and because she can’t get up the stairs to use the lavatory
In the final weeks of her life, Deborah launched a number of iniatives in order to raise money for her Bowel Babe fund, and continued to speak of the challenges of her cancer battle
In an emotional final post shared to Instagram in May, Deborah said her body ‘was not playing ball’ and she was spending ‘most of the day sleeping’
‘She said it was brilliant. She was ‘triple parked’ and kept on joking about how many drinks she could get lined up in front of her.
‘She’s realising that being at home is just where she wants to be right now, surrounded by all her loved ones. She spoke very eloquently and very knowledgably about all the cancer treatments, not just her own.
‘She has obviously done her research and was very passionate about making sure the money raised goes straight towards finding more treatments, speeding things up. She was very strong about that.
‘It’s amazing really in the world we live in that still talking openly and movingly about cancer is not as common as it should be. So many people are affected by cancer.
‘I love Deborah, she’s fantastic. I met her children as well. It was very difficult talking to them about it but they seem to have been talking about the situation a lot.
She raised over £500,000 by collaborating with InTheStyle on a Rebellious Hope t-shirt, while also launching her own clothing collection
‘That’s so important in those moment that the family talk and communicate about it and the children are brought into what is going on.
‘They seem like such a lovely family, the parents were there was well. It was such a very special moment, it really was. A lot of parents and families I can imagine don’t know how to brooch the subject.
‘It’s so difficult to talk about. But they were very open. I was asked lots of questions. It got me quite moved that they wanted to hear those answers, it was so open. Thank you so much for looking after her so well. She is a brave and inspirational woman.’
In the final weeks of her life, Deborah launched a number of iniatives in order to raise money for her Bowel Babe fund, and continued to speak of the challenges of her cancer battle.
She raised over £500,000 by collaborating with InTheStyle on a Rebellious Hope t-shirt, while also launching her own clothing collection.
Proceeds from the collection are set to donated on to her BowelBabe fund.
In her final days, Deborah was made a dame by the Duke of Cambridge while receiving end-of-life care at her family home
The mother-of-two and former deputy head teacher met William who personally conferred the damehood to her at home
And her new book topped Amazon’s bestsellers chart just 24 hours after it was announced.
For every edition of How to Live When You Could be Dead sold in the UK, £3 will go to Dame Deborah’s Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK. It is due for release on August 18.
The Chelsea Flower Show also unveiled a rose named after her by the Harkness Rose Company. On what is believed to be one of her final outings, she toured the flower show gardens with her husband Sebastien and TV presenter Sophie Raworth.
She said she hoped that one day, her daughter Eloise might have the rose in the bouquet of her wedding.
Meanwhile she revealed her final TV appearance would be in an episode of Embarrassing Bodies where she discusses the symptoms of bowel cancer.
The campaigner filmed an episode of the show earlier this year and has given her blessing for the programme to be aired in the event of her death.
Just days before she died, she told The Sun she was ‘making sure her children only see her on good days’ as she revealed she felt ‘exhausted’ amid her ongoing cancer battle.
She added she had felt a ‘deep love’ from her family, saying: ‘I think my family are knackered, they have all been incredible – going above and beyond to look after me and nurse me.’
The 40-year-old said that the collection was designed while she was at hospital and at home and that it ‘brought her to life’ and allowed her to think about something else. Deborah is pictured with husband Sebastien while she visited her rose at the Chelsea Flower show yesterday
Speaking after she released a charity t-shirt with the same brand where the profits also went to the bowelbabe fund, she said that she had designed the collection as she loves fashion and clothes and they make her happy. Deborah is pictured here in one of the charity t-shirts with her daughter Eloise
She added: ‘I feel very strongly that I don’t want my kids to see me agitated and distressed. I want to make sure they see me when I’m having a good days.’
Saying the ‘pressure’ on her young children was ‘huge’, she continued: ‘I want them to have nice memories.
‘I don’t want them to take on the burden of having to care for me, massage my legs because I can’t walk. That would break my heart.’
She recalled seeing her grandparents when they were unwell and said she was determined that Eloise and Hugo won’t see that and will have good memories.
Meanwhile she also revealed how she has been asking the hospice team when she will know ‘it is time.’
She said: ‘I want to know when I need to get my kids back from school, to say goodbye to them.’
The mother-of-two also revealed how she has told the team she is ‘very happy’ to be sedated when the time is right.
You can donate to Deborah James’ BowelBabeFund here.