In 2016, Dame Deborah James was living her best life. She was a British 35-year-old mum of two who was fit and healthy, had been a vegetarian for 25 years and was excelling in her career as a secondary school teacher.
Then she was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer.
Deborah immediately realised you are "never too young" to be affected by bowel cancer, because although the disease does mostly affect people of older and middle age, it can happen to people in their younger years too. In Australia, there has even been a rise in young-onset gastrointestinal cancers.
When Deborah began her chemotherapy and treatments, she started to blog about her experiences, sharing it via her website and Instagram platform @bowelbabe, as well as becoming a columnist and a BBC podcaster. Her aim was simple – to have a wider conversation about bowel health, encourage people to get regular colonoscopies and share her cancer journey.
And sadly this week, it came to an end, with Deborah's family announcing that she passed away at age 40, surrounded by loved ones.
Watch: The facts, on bowel cancer. Post continues below.
Deborah began co-presenting You, Me and the Big C alongside Lauren Mahon and BBC Radio 5 Live newsreader Rachael Bland in 2018, with the show earning praise for its frank discussion of cancer.
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