SUN columnist Dame Deborah James changed the lives of thousands battling bowel cancer across the UK.
Her tireless campaigning led to many getting suspicious symptoms checked out — while others who were being fobbed off became more determined.
The millions of pounds she has raised will now help fund treatments — and BowelBabe’s legacy will live on forever.
Today, three women thank Dame Debs and explain in heartbreaking detail how they are all still alive thanks to her.
Donate here to keep raising money for Deborah’s BowelBabe fund.
As one said: “She saved so many of us.
“I think we all just wish we could have done the same for her.”
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‘I’D SPENT YEARS WITH BOWEL ISSUES BUT NEVER THOUGHT IT WAS CANCER’ – GEMMA CROSSLEY
RECEPTIONIST Gemma Crossley owes her life to BowelBabe — but feels guilty that she is alive to see her kids grow up while she will not.
Gemma, 40, mum to Jack, 15, and Mia, 14, said: “I’d seen Deborah on TV and started following her on Instagram at the start of 2020. She seemed so inspirational.
“I’d spent years with bowel issues but had never thought it was cancer.”
She then saw a post from Debs and recalled: “It was a real red flag for me.
“I went to the GP who found a lump and some blood.”
She was eventually referred for tests and was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer.
Gemma, of Wigan, said: “I remember squeezing my husband Andy’s hand really hard when I got the call, but I just felt numb.
“I had 25 sessions of radiotherapy and four sessions of chemo. In June 2021 I had surgery to remove all cancerous tissue.”
She is now cancer-free but said: “When I read Deborah stopped treatment I burst into tears. Her children won’t have their mum like mine have got me and that breaks my heart.
“Debs touched everybody who followed her story, she saved so many of us. I think we all just wish we could have done the same for her.”
‘I’D BEEN FOBBED OFF BUT BECAUSE OF DEBORAH I KNEW I NEEDED ANSWERS’ – PATRICIA LEVER
PROPERTY firm worker Patricia Lever was told many times by docs her bowel problems were nothing to worry about — but Deborah inspired her to keep trying.
Patricia, 58, said: “I’d always been sent home with cream or told it was IBS or health anxiety.
“My daughter called me one day in early 2021 and told me a woman called Deborah James was on Lorraine and I should tune in.
“I’d been fobbed off but because of Deborah and what I saw on TV, I knew I needed to get some answers.”
She went private and had tests, including a CT scan and stool sample. Nine days later, in April 2021, she was told she had colorectal cancer.
She recalled: “An 8cm tumour had caused my bowel to overlap and a section of my bowel had died and needed to be removed.
“I had an amazing surgeon who saved my life in one way, but Deborah saved my life in a very different way.
“I know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. She’s touched so many lives but even at the end of hers she was still trying to help other people.
“I’m heartbroken for her and her family but I can’t thank her enough for saving my life. I’ll never be able to repay her.”
‘MY DAUGHTER WOULD BE WITHOUT HER MUM IF IT WASN’T FOR DEBORAH’ – TERESA WHITFIELD
TERESA believes she would not be alive today if she had not seen Deborah on Lorraine Kelly’s TV show.
She said: “I had symptoms 12 months before I was diagnosed but thought it was irritable bowel syndrome or stress.
“When I saw Deborah on Lorraine around October 2018 talking about the symptoms it made me go cold.
“Everything she described was what I was dealing with.”
Marketing and events director Teresa, 52, from Surrey, said doctors dismissed her concerns three times — before she was diagnosed within a week of going private in early 2019.
She added: “It was a relief. Two NHS GPs had made me think I was going mad and finally I knew I wasn’t.
“I had a colonoscopy a few weeks later to remove the cancer. Since then all my scans and tests have been clear, and I’ve been cancer free for three years.”
Teresa, mum to Bethan, 14, added: “Debs always talked about ‘scanxiety’ on her podcasts. I had my annual scan last week and thought of her.
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“I cried when I heard Debs was at the end of her journey.
“She leaves a hole in the lives of everyone who loved her, and people like me who she saved but doesn’t know it, I’ll never be able to repay her.
