DAME Deborah was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer shortly before Christmas 2016, at the age of 35 — and was given just an eight per cent chance of living five years.
But she defied the odds and turned 40 last October, before hitting the five-year milestone a few months later.
Her tragic death was announced in an Instagram post tonight, with her beloved family paying tribute to “the most amazing wife, daughter, sister, mummy“.
Deborah, who raised an astonishing £6.75million in the weeks before her death through BowelBabe, shared every step of her journey with Sun readers in her column Things Cancer Made Me Say.
She went on to present the award-winning BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C with fellow cancer patients Rachael Bland, who died in September 2018, Lauren Mahon and Rachael’s husband Steve.
In the five-and-a-half years since her diagnosis Deborah changed the conversation around bowel cancer, raising vital awareness and breaking down taboos.
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She tirelessly banged the “F*** Cancer” drum — writing a book of the same name — and vowed to do everything she could to help others avoid her same fate.
Her inspiration was the fierce love she had for her children, Eloise, 12, and Hugo, 14.
She dreamed of a future where they would not have to fear cancer
where a cure would be readily available and the disease would no longer be a killer.
Deborah was married to Seb for 13 years and paid tribute to him in a column to mark her 40th birthday.
She wrote: “Seb is my rock — he’s the person who holds me at 3am when I’m consumed by fear and crying, who holds it all together.
“He’s a brilliant dad and I know that if the day comes when I’m not around, all my wishes for the kids will be upheld.”
In her quest to break the “poo taboo” she dressed up as a poo emoji to normalise conversations around changing bowel habits — a key symptom she experienced in the six months prior to her diagnosis.
She was a fierce campaigner, helping to launch Trending In The News’s No Time 2 Lose campaign, which ultimately saw the Government lower the screening age for bowel cancer from 60 to 50 in England.
Just last month, she became the face of the latest No Butts campaign on Lorraine’s ITV show — broadcasting from her hospital bed at The Royal Marsden.
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Her liver started to fail last month after the cocktail of drugs that had been keeping her alive stopped working.
Repeated operations to try and stent her bile duct left her facing bouts of sepsis — once battling a terrifying 40C fever.
And in January, she was left fighting for her life after a major internal bleed.
But even in her final days, she refused to stop raising awareness.
With the help of her family, Deborah set up the BowelBabe Foundation, and last month, she was made a dame 24 hours after Sun readers led calls for her to be honoured.
- Donate here to keep raising money for Deborah’s BowelBabe fund
In an unprecedented move, the Duke of Cambridge cleared his diary to do the honours at a tea party at her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey — where Deborah was receiving end-of-life care.
Inspirational Debs also brought forward the release date of the book she had been working on – but tragically knew she wouldn’t see it on shelves.
Just hours after the pre-release announcement was made, her legions of supporters had bumped the “labour of love” to the top of the charts.
Deborah previously told how she had made the decision to die at her parent’s property for the sake of her children, so they can be spared from constant reminders in their family home.
She also revealed she had planned her funeral, which will be in Barnes near to where her family home is.
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In her final poignant column for Trending In The News, she wrote: “I have done what I have always wanted to do, which is go to my parents house and be surrounded by my incredible family and watch in awe as they somehow manage to smile through the heartbreak.
“And it reassures me to know that while I may not be here soon, things will be OK because together they can get through this, the hardest of adversities.”
