BEFORE being diagnosed with bowel cancer, Deborah James said she saw it as an ‘old man’s disease’.
Trending In The News writer was diagnosed with the illness when she was just 35-year-olds, proving you’re never too young.
During her final TV appearance aired last night on E4, Deborah urged everyone to talk more freely about their bowel habits.
She said: “I had this image of bowel cancer as like basically an old man’s disease, which I now know is absolutely not the case.
“Actually unfortunately, I’ve met so many young people, it’s one of the largest rising cancer in people under 50, it’s quite shocking actually – it‘s the last thing thought it would be.”
Bowel cancer screening in the UK is offered to people in their 50s.
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Debs, along with Trending In The News’s ‘No Time 2 Lose’ campaign, helped to lower the screening age – which had previously been for people 60 and over.
The clip, which featured on last nights Embarrassing Bodies was filmed before the 40-year-old was moved to palliative care at her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey, last month.
Since her bowel cancer diagnosis in 2016, Debs has been an avid campaigner – urging people to be aware of the signs and symptoms of the illness.
It was this passion that made the mum-of-two, who is known to her followers as BowelBabe, a Dame.
On the show Debs chats to GP Dr Tosin Ajayi-Sotubo about why talk of poo, should never be a taboo.
Deborah, who stunned at Royal Ascot this week, said before she was diagnosed, the biggest change she saw was in her bowel habits.
She explained: “I started going to the poo – we need to say that – eight times a day. And I used to be a once a day kind of girl.
“Then I started getting really tired and I remember drinking loads of cups of coffee just to try and keep myself awake.
“Then I started losing loads of weight and I started having blood in my poo.”
It was the combination of these changes, Deborah said, that led her to having a ‘gut instinct that something wasn’t right.
During the clip, Debs says she is hooked up to a lot of leads.
She adds: “I’m obviously stuck in this hospital bed, but I was wondering, can you take this message out to the streets for me.
“Let’s not be embarrassed about it.
“We all poo, like our favourite celebrities poo, let’s kind of break down, smash those taboos because quite frankly that is going to save lives. Let’s spread the word.”
- To pre-order Deborah’s book visit Amazon
- Her t-shirt is available through In the Style in sizes 6-28
- The Dame Deborah James rose, Bare Root, is available at World of Roses
