IT’S ten months since Sun columnist Dame Deborah James died and her incredible legacy continues.
Last week the 40-year-old’s family revealed her Bowelbabe Fund, set up in the weeks before she died on June 28, has so far raised 11.3million.
Dame Deborah James died ten months ago but her inspirational legacy lives on
Graham PrenticeDame Debs with Prince William, husband Sebastien and children Hugo and Eloise[/caption]
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Dame Debs’ husband Sebastien Bowen said: “Deborah would be utterly blown away. The kids and I are immensely proud.
“The last year of Deborah’s life was incredibly difficult, but the fund has been a really positive thing to focus on – the light in the dark.
“Deborah was very clear she didn’t want her story to be one of sadness – she said it herself in her final Sun column.
“Scientific advances kept her alive when the statistics said she should be dead, and the fund was her way of doing that for others.”
Working with Cancer Research UK, the family has unveiled the first five projects that will benefit from £4million of the money raised – in partnership with The Institute of Cancer Research, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Bowel Cancer UK.
For Seb, the most exciting thing is watching these charities come together to work towards the same ultimate goal.
“It’s one of the things we spoke to Prince William about when he visited us to give Deborah her damehood,” he added.
“We all agreed, wouldn’t it be amazing if all these big charities worked more closely together and joined up their thinking with one ultimate goal in mind?
“That’s what we are seeing, and it gives me shivers. That alone will make a huge difference.
“These projects were all carefully selected – they all speak to Deborah’s legacy.
“We spent a lot of time speaking to doctors, oncologists, surgeons, scientists and other experts to decide where the money could have the biggest impact.”
What to look for
KEY bowel cancer symptoms to look out for include:
Bleeding from your bottom
Blood in your poo
A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habits
Unexplained weight loss
Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
A pain or lump in your tummy
Genevieve Edwards, chief executive at Bowel Cancer UK, says: “Our patron, Dame Deborah, often said that you should check your poo, and that’s exactly what I would encourage people to do.
“If something has changed or doesn’t look right to you, then don’t wait – contact your doctor.
“If you experience one or more of these symptoms, you should visit your doctor straight away.
“They will want to see you and may ask you to do a Faecal Immuno-chemical Test, known as FIT, at home.
“It’s very easy to do and will help your GP to decide whether your symptoms need further investigation.”
Life-saving bowel cancer tests on NHS
BOWEL cancer screening is currently available on the NHS to everyone aged 60 to 74 years in England – in Scotland screening is from 50 already.
But, in a win for The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign, which was spearheaded by Dame Debs, the programme is now being rolled out to 50-59 year olds in England too.
Debs urged people to recognise the symptoms of bowel cancer and get checked
Seb said: “We have the incredible opportunity that once we reach a certain age we are offered a free bowel cancer screening test on the NHS.
“Deborah campaigned tirelessly with The Sun to call on the Government to lower the screening age to 50, knowing it would save lives.
“I want to take this opportunity to plead with anyone who receives one of these tests in the post to just do it, make sure you use the test and give yourself the best chance to catch this disease in the earliest stages.
“It’s incredibly sad to me, to think that there could be people out there whose lives would’ve been saved had they just used the test.
“It is an incredibly effective test, and it has the potential to save so many lives.”
‘I’ve a long road ahead, but I’m told it’s curable’
RUTH Lawrence, 43, a mortgage advisor from Bristol, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in September last year.
She said: “Looking back, I was experiencing what Deborah was talking about on her Instagram – bowel irregularity and changes in frequency.
Ruth Lawrence said: ‘I had problems with going to the toilet and changes in bowel habits for a while’Ruth Lawrence
But – like Deborah did initially – I tried to ignore it or put it down to other things.
I was diagnosed a couple of months after Deborah passed away. I thought of her when I got the news.
I had problems with going to the toilet and changes in bowel habits for a while.
I would quite often get the feeling of needing to go but then not being able to.
I ended up spending the night in A&E in May 2022 with horrific stomach pains.
I was told I had some colitis, discharged after antibiotics and referred for a Crohn’s disease follow-up.
By then I knew something wasn’t right, I was starting to get blood in my stool too.
Throughout 2022 I had GP appointments but my doctor said, “It’s not cancer”.
I went private and had a colonoscopy in August 2022. Two weeks later it was confirmed as bowel cancer.
I’ve had bowel surgeries, a liver resection and I’m waiting for another bowel resection and full hysterectomy, having had chemo to shrink the tumour.
I’ve a long road ahead, but my specialists tell me it’s curable, so I’m taking each treatment one step at a time.
I remember sitting on the toilet looking at Deborah’s Instagram and feed clearly having the symptoms myself – but not putting two and two together.”
‘Debs’ passing spurred me to order online test’
LAUREN Roberts, a 40-year-old life coach from Twickenham, South West London, was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in July 2022.
She said: “I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome in 2006 so it wasn’t unusual for me to have irregular bowel movements.
Lauren Roberts said: ‘I thought a lot about Deborah’s cancer journey ending as mine was just beginning’Handout
After I had my son Leo, five, in 2017, I started passing blood in my stool. My GP said it could be haemorrhoids after labour.
By September 2021 I had a persistent pain in my groin and abdomen.
I was trying to conceive again, so I put it down to stress from that.
I followed Deborah on Instagram and I’d scroll through her posts thinking about my symptoms.
When she died, it spurred me into action. She’d campaigned so hard – why hadn’t I done something to figure out what was going on?
I ordered an online FIT test from letsgetchecked.co.uk.
The results were abnormal. I was referred for a colon-oscopy in July and told there was a 95 per cent chance I had cancer – they’d found a bleeding tumour.
I thought a lot about Deborah’s cancer journey ending as mine was just beginning. I had a surgical bowel resection last August.
They took around one foot of my colon. I felt constantly reminded how fortunate I was compared to Deborah.
I finished chemotherapy and while I’m always scared of saying it out loud because it feels like tempting fate, I’m now cancer free.
Trust your gut, literally. Looking back, I knew some-thing wasn’t right.
I wish I’d pursued it sooner. When your body tries to speak to you, please listen to it.”
The projects
Early diagnosis saves lives – Project #1
A TEAM led by Professor Trevor Graham, director of the Centre for Evolution and Cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research, is exploring how advanced mathematical formulas could help us to understand the way bowel cancer spreads.
Project #2
DR OLEG Blyuss, from Queen Mary University in London, is using sophisticated AI tools, including blood tests, to detect the early signs of bowel, pancreatic and lung cancer.
Seb said: “The more experts I have the privilege of speaking to, the more I realise the importance of raising awareness, as Deborah did, to help early detection.
“Early diagnosis is a theme throughout the projects, and it is something the kids and I are really passionate about.
“No one should die from bowel cancer. Catch it early – no one should get to the point where they are facing a stage four diagnosis.
“The more time that passes, the more I think how incredibly sad it is that Deborah was diagnosed so late.
“She had symptoms for six months, and we know that caught early, this disease can be treated.
“I find myself torn between wanting to be positive and do Deborah’s legacy justice, and being desperately sad this happened and determined to try to make sure it doesn’t happen to another family.
“These projects aim to help detect cancer at the earliest stage.
“By working out how cancer spreads, the hope is scientists could stop it in its tracks.”
Gut feeling – Project #3
THE OPTIMISTICC Cancer Grand Challenges team has identified a bacteria in the gut’s microbes that could increase bowel cancer risk in the under-50s.
Seb said: “It opens up the possibility that we could somehow remove those microbes to treat cancer, or prevent it in the first place.
“Deborah was a fit and healthy vegetarian when she was diagnosed at 35.
“She had none of the known risk factors, and we know that her bowel cancer wasn’t hereditary.
“But cancer can be just a case of bad luck. As far as we know, Deborah’s cancer looks like it was just that.
“Who knows? Maybe it was down to something like these microbes, and if it had happened ten years later, maybe science would’ve had the answer.
“If this study can prevent cancer in others, it will be an incredible part of Deborah’s legacy.”
Image of the future – Project #4
A NEW advanced interventional radiography machine is being provided for The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London.
Seb said: “This is another really exciting project, as it’s something we know was so close to Deborah’s heart.
“We are funding a new IR machine at The Royal Marsden Hospital. A similar one saved Deborah’s life countless times, blasting tumours.
“Dr Nicos Fotiadis, one of Deborah’s doctors at The Marsden, is a leading expert in the field, and we want other people to benefit from his work in the way Deborah did.”
Smashing taboos – Project #5
BOWEL Cancer UK project to host awareness roadshows and offer
primary care education.
Seb said: “Deborah was clear that she wanted us to keep pushing awareness to help ensure early detection.
“She changed the conversation around bowel cancer – she made it OK to talk about poo in a national newspaper and on TV.
“This project is about continuing her incredible work. It’s twofold.
“One part is focused on roadshows to raise awareness in areas where we know bowel cancer outcomes are worse.
“Cancer inequality is a huge issue, so this money will go to help BCUK target people at greatest risk.
“The second part is an education drive to help primary care doctors have as much information as possible.
“Whenever someone presents to a GP with symptoms that could be bowel cancer, we don’t want people waiting around. There are quick and easy tests, called FIT tests, that are incredibly effective.”
To donat, visit bowelbabe.org. Read More