Bowel babe Dame Deborah James has passed away.

[velvetblanket]

So sad for her family. What a life lived though and what a legacy she leaves.

RIP Deborah. Jogging to the Royal Marsden for treatment was something else What a life force! Bravo to her and condolences to her family.

@hammsalllad @MissPeregrinesHome
Thank you so much 💐

For some reason I keep thinking of some of the mean spirited messages I saw on here in the past with people criticising her approach to her illness. She was brave and doggedly determined and will undoubtedly have saved lives. She was clearly very much loved. Unkind comments and criticism never felt appropriate to me.

May she rest in peace.

I was taking a friend round Windsor Castle-we were in the Church bit and it was pretty crowded.
I passed by a woman very closely and our eyes met-she looked like she was undergoing cancer treatment and was wearing a Rebellious Hope t-shirt (Dame Deborah's t-shirt to raise money for Bowel babe) she was holding hands with who I assume was her son-he looked around 12yo.

I said my Rebellious Hope t-shirt is at home.
She said "I am rebelliously hoping"

Really hits you-I did wait until later to cry.
@CloseYourMouthLynn sympathy for your loss

oh gosh that’s made me cry. Such a cruel disease. We lost my FIL in Nov 2020 to pancreatic cancer 1 week after diagnosis- happened so fast. RIP Deborah I hope she was a peace at the end and love and strength to her family now x

@paisley256 I'm so sorry to hear this. Sending hugs and best wishes xx

She did divide opinion, both inside and outside of the cancer community, for various reasons but its not the time to go into that now.

No one can deny she did it her way and she had a huge zest for life.

She will leave a big Deborah shaped hole in quite a few lives.

@catwomando thank you* *that's really kind of you. 💐

RIP Deborah and sorry to everyone who has lost a loved one to this awful disease (inc my own mum, but a long time ago now).
My DH did the Fit test a few months ago - very simple test which can save lives - luckily he only had piles.

I don't often get upset about well known people who have died but I am upon hearing this news. She was so vivacious with a zest for life, and has done so much good. R.I.P. Dame Deborah.

I saw some of those before they were deleted and was shocked. I won't repeat any of them here.

Whatever people thought of her approach to dealing with her illness, thank goodness for Deborah's joyful videos shining a big old light on symptoms to look out for and helping to take away the stigma of keeping quiet about 'embarrassing' symptoms. The media is awash with her today and symptoms are being talked about over and over again. Lives will be saved.

Her family must be utterly heartbroken but also very very proud.

She was blessed with her family, wasn't she?

Well I hope those who wrote the nasty posts can acknowledge that she was a highly intelligent and tough woman who educated and campaigned and raised awareness very effectively about the early diagnosis of bowel cancer. And raising £5 million for research while on your death bed wasn't a bad achievement either. RIP Deborah.

The grief of the parent losing a child (any age) is always the worst. I sometimes have to attend in these situations professionally and try to avoid being there when the patients parents are I cannot bear to witness it.

I had QFIT results yesterday and got a very unexpected high positive so have been referred on 2ww STT/straight to testing (don't go to a clinic first). I hope you get a negative result. Qi also have bad worsening anaemia. If mine is bad new I hopei find the courage Deborah found.

First Tom Parker, now Dame Deborah James. Too soon. Very sad. RIP.

@SunflowerGardens thank you. Hope all is well. X

I'm very sorry

My lovely mum was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer in 2016 around the same time as Dame Deborah was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
It spread to her colon in April and she died in May.

I agree that not everyone will make the front page but hopefully all Dame Deborah did will raise awareness.

Hope you're doing ok. I have good and bad days as it's an awful thing to watch someone die from

@paisley256 sending love. X

Unbelievably sad for someone so young and healthy. She had such a vibrant and positive outlook even in the face of such gruelling treatment.

I'm glad she seemed to have such a strong and close family around her but I'm heartbroken for them. Not sure if her brother is away on holiday which must be really difficult.

@itsgettingweird I'm sorry for your loss too. It's a traumatising thing to watch. To see my brother waste away to nothing was terrible. X

It's so sad when a young mother dies, she was taken too soon. I feel for her family. They knew it was coming but the reality must be so hard. RIP Deborah.

Incredibly sad to hear the sad news. Her tireless work has saved many lives.

It coincidentally happened the day after we discovered, and told our DC that their Daddy had bowel cancer. Next day, all the headlines are about #Bowelbabe and the incredible work she did - but also how she died from bowel cancer, and how she had suffered. Thankfully my DH discovered early, and has been given an excellent prognosis, but my children are obviously very scared

What an inspirational woman. RIP Dame Deborah ❤️