Deborah James’ Bowelbabe Fund raises more than £2million for cancer research

Podcast host Deborah James said there’s not a stone “we haven’t tried to turn over,” speaking from her parents’ home, where she is being treated for colon cancer at the end of her life.

The popular host of BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C revealed in an Instagram post on Monday that while she’s “tried everything,” her body just “just won’t play along.”

She set up the Bowelbabe Fund which has raised more than £2million so far since it was announced earlier in the week.

The 40-year-old activist told BBC Breakfast: “You know, I’ve always told you I don’t want to leave anything unturned.

“I don’t think there’s a rock that we haven’t tried to get my liver working again to get my body working somehow but unfortunately I’m exhausted, I’m absolutely exhausted.

“We’re at the point now where I just…I know there’s really nothing more I can do.”

The former vice-principal was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016 and has since kept her more than 500,000 Instagram followers up to date on her treatments, with candid posts about her progress and diagnosis, including videos of her dancing through the treatment.

The podcast host said she “always knew” she wanted to set up the fund before she died and if she had known how little time she had left, she would have set it up six months ago.

She hopes the fund will continue to work on some of the things that have helped her life, such as innovative drug trials.

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Speaking of her family, the mother-of-two said: “I have a really loving family that I adore and couldn’t…I honestly like…they are just amazing.

“I just knew that I can come here and relax because I know everything is fine. We’ve had some really, really tough talks over the past week.

“You’re like, ‘Man, how can someone have conversations like that?’ and then you’re just… you find yourself in the thick of it and people are very nice, but you’re almost… you’re talking about your own death and I’ve had five years to prepare for my death.

“I’m not upset, I’m not angry that I haven’t tried anything, I don’t feel like we’re running out of meds, but I’m still not quite there.”

She continued, “I know because I trust my husband, he’s just the most wonderful man, and so does my family, and I know that my children will be more than cared for and surrounded by love, and you always want to know Will your children be okay as a mother?

“And my kids will be fine, but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss every chance I could have had with them.

“I stayed with my brother and sister, we are all in our 40’s. You know I’m never alone, which I think is great. It’s like being a kid again and I can’t think of a better way.”

In a post on her Instagram Stories Wednesday morning, she thanked people for their donations, adding, “We have brilliant, enthusiastic talent in this country – let’s support them to do their best to give more people more time to live.” admit.”

James wrote her final column for The Sun on Tuesday, in which she said: “The last six months have probably been the toughest of my entire cancer journey.”

She said the “relentless medicalization” of her body has been “heartbreaking” and her moments out of the hospital and pain-free have become increasingly rare.

Professor David Cunningham, who was James’ consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital, told BBC Breakfast: “Deborah has been a beacon of inspiration, hope and courage to many cancer patients.

“She has personally supported probably thousands and reached many, many more than that through social media.

“Deborah thinks very similarly – she’s selfless, she thinks about the future, she thinks about other people.

“And I think that’s what drives this fantastic initiative to set up a research fund to support further cancer research.”

The fund name reflects her social media name Bowelbabe and raises funds for Cancer Research UK.

The Just Giving page says it is “raising money to fund clinical trials and research into personalized medicine for cancer patients and to support campaigns to raise awareness of colorectal cancer.”