After being diagnosed with bowel cancer, Deborah James used her platform to educate others about the ups and downs of her health journey.
James, 40, who shares son Hugo, 14, and daughter Eloise, 12, with her husband Sebastien Bowenpreviously revealed she was cancer-free after a three-year battle with the life-threatening stage 4 diagnosis.
“It’s a bit crazy (and honestly I haven’t treated this for a number of reasons) but at the moment I have no evidence of cancer in my body!!. Which seems crazy given that at one point i had 15 tumors!” she wrote via Instagram in 2020.
As the cancer returned, the BBC podcast host took to social media to highlight her happiest moments as well as updates on her health. “I ‘live’ very well with cancer. I hope I am more than just a diagnosis – this is not a “fair” cancer story. It’s about celebrating the moments in between,” wrote James, who launched “You, Me and the Big C” in 2018, via Instagram in January 2022. “I love celebrating life. It’s about taking it one day at a time! Stepping and being grateful for another sunrise.
After a nearly six-year battle, James revealed she was entering hospice care after continuous hospital visits. “I don’t think anyone can say the last 6 months have been exactly good! It’s heartbreaking to go through but I’m surrounded by so much love that if anything can help me, I hope it will,” she said. noted in May 2022. “In over 5 years of writing about how I thought it would be my last Christmas, how I wouldn’t see my 40th birthday or see my kids go to high school – I never considered writing the one where I would say goodbye. I think that was the rebellious hope in me.
At the time, James admitted she was “absolutely blown away” by the love she received online. “I cannot thank people enough for their generosity. It means so much to me,” James told the BBC the same month, noting that his fundraising had reached new heights. “It makes me feel completely loved. But it makes me feel like we’re all together in the end and we all want to make a difference and say, ‘You know what? Fuck you cancer. You know, we can do better.
James noted that she hopes her honesty on social media inspires more people to support cancer research. “We can do better for people and we just have to show them who’s boss,” she continued. “For the past five years I have campaigned, I have spoken about awareness, I have shared my story for a reason – the laughs, the laughs, sharing that you can live with cancer, unveiling what can look like cancer. But at the end of the day, what I really want to happen is that I don’t want any other Deborahs to have to go through this. We know that when we catch cancer early, we can cure it.
Scroll down for James’ inspirational quotes about his health and approach to life:
