DAME Deborah James was an inspiration to millions of people.
Through her tireless bowel cancer campaigning, the Sun writer was on a mission to make everyone aware of the signs and symptoms.
Now one woman has revealed how Debs saved her life, after she saw the mum-of-two on TV talking about the red flags of the illness.
Teresa Whitfield was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer, and credits Debs for being the reason she is still alive today.
Early diagnosis is key when it comes to cancer, as this gives patients the best shot at receiving treatment.
Ms Whitfield is now cancer-free and was today asked what she would say to Deborah’s family following the tragic news of her death.
Read more on Deborah James
“I think I actually have only one word which is thank-you.
“Without her, I don’t think I would be here today. Her campaigning is critical and we, as bowel cancer patients, as bowel cancer survivors, and as anybody who thinks they might have bowel cancer, we have to carry on with the legacy that she has.
“We have to carry on campaigning to raise awareness,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
Last month Deborah was moved to palliative care after she said her body had ‘stopped playing ball’.
Donate here to keep raising money for Deborah’s BowelBabe fund
It was from her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey, that the mum-of-two continued to raise awareness.
In her final weeks she raised over £6.8million for the BowelBabe fund, which she set up to give ‘more Deborah’s more time’.
Alongside this, Debs also launched a fashion collection with In the Style, raising £1million alone through the sales of her Rebellious Hope T-shirts.
But perhaps one of the biggest impacts Debs has had, is getting supermarkets up and down the country to display information about cancer on loo roll packaging.
The chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, Genevieve Edwards, said Deborah leaves a ‘tremendous legacy’.
“She never stopped raising awareness. Bowel cancer is something people find difficult to talk about often and don’t really … they find it a little bit embarrassing.
“She’s stripped all of that away and shone a powerful light on it.”
Deborah has been described as a ‘beacon of light’ for people living with cancer, by BBC TV presenter George Alagiah, who was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer in 2014.
He tweeted: “Knowing that @bowelbabe Dame Deborah James was nearing the end of her journey here does not make her passing any easier to accept.
