Cancer-stricken podcaster Deborah James raises £1m after tearful farewell post

10 May 2022, 07:10 | Updated: 10 May 2022, 10:30

Cancer-stricken podcaster Deborah James raises £1m after tearful farewell post
Cancer-stricken podcaster Deborah James raises £1m after tearful farewell post. Picture: Instagram/@bowelbabe

By Will Taylor

Cancer-stricken podcaster Deborah James has raised £1million after revealing she does not know "how long I've got left" in a tearful farewell post.

James, who has revealed she is beginning hospice at home care for her terminal bowel cancer, reached the sum on her BowelBabe Fund only 12 hours after launching the fundraiser, smashing the initial target of £250,000.

She said: "I'm just blown away, never thought we’d get to that number in 12 hours. It makes me emotional to see the outpouring of love."

The money will be allocated to causes and projects with the support of Cancer Research UK.

James plugged the fundraiser in a heartbreaking Instagram post last night, saying it was "the message I never wanted to write" but that her body "simply isn't playing ball".

The popular host of the podcast You, Me and the Big C said even a "magic new breakthrough" will not be able to help her – but she has "no regrets".

Listen to You, Me and the Big C on Global Player

Ms James was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and has become famous for her candid updates about her condition.

She wrote to her 400,000 Instagram followers: "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."

Read more: Cancer breakthrough as ‘mindblowing’ gene discovery brings hope of better treatment

She has encouraged people to donate to charities like Cancer Research UK, Bowel Cancer UK and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

"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 Deborahs more time!

"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."

Read more: Oasis star Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs reveals tonsil cancer diagnosis

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Mexico Sinaloa Cartel

Leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges

Seven men who committed a string of child sex abuse offences against two teenage girls in Rotherham in the early 2000s have been jailed for a total of 106 years

Seven men jailed for total of 106 years over 'horrific' sexual abuse of two girls in Rotherham

PC Perry Lathwood had been found guilty of assaulting a woman in Croydon, south London in July 2023

Met Police officer fined for assaulting woman during wrongful bus fare arrest has conviction overturned

Some prisoners released early have already been recalled to jail

Prisoners freed under early release scheme 'already back in jail'

Official figures claiming there are 262,000 transgender people in England and Wales have been stripped of their accredited status

Official estimate of 262,000 trans people in England and Wales formally downgraded in embarrassing setback for ONS

The Navy and RAF shadowed Russian craft in the English Channel

Royal Navy warships shadow Russian submarine in the Channel as four Kremlin vessels enter UK waters

Jay Blades charged with engaging inn controlling and coercive behaviour

The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades charged with ‘controlling and coercive behaviour against wife’

Justin Timberlake (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Justin Timberlake expected to plead guilty to ‘impaired driving’ in New York

Exclusive
Vladimir Putin is unlikely to hit back at Britain and the West if it gives the green light for Ukraine to target sites in Russia, senior defence figures believe.

Vladimir Putin 'unlikely' to hit back if West gives green light to target sites in Russia

A proposal to build a cheaper but slower alternative to a scrapped section of HS2 has been unveiled

Plans for cheaper alternative of scrapped HS2 northern leg unveiled in which journeys would be only 15 minutes longer

Firefighters adjust parts of the anti-flood barriers in Prague (Petr David Josek/AP)

Central Europe braced for heavy rain and flooding forecast over the weekend

Temperatures are set to soar to 24C again

Exact date temperatures will soar to 24C after Arctic blast sweeps UK

People buy fruit at a hypermarket in Moscow (AP)

Russian central bank hikes rates to fight inflation fuelled by military spending

An investigation has been launched following the death of three people at a property in Luton on Friday

Triple murder probe launched after three people killed in block of flats - as teenager arrested and weapon recovered

Scotland, Loch Lomond, 13th September 2024, Aurora Over Loch Lomond

Northern Lights dazzle over UK as stargazers share stunning snaps of aurora borealis - with chance to see them again tonight

Ministers are looking at proposals to add points to cyclists' driving licences if they commit offences

Dangerous cyclists ‘face penalty points on their driving licence’