During bowel cancer awareness month a lot of what is talked about, quite rightly, has a very serious nature to it. Today, for a welcome change, it's something rather different. Yesterday, Deborah James a stage 4 bowel cancer patient got the wonderful news that she is cancer free. This is a previously unseen photo from when we met, which captures and epitomizes so much about this inspirational young lady.
Last September I spent a really nice evening with Deborah in Richmond. She'd happily agreed to be in my forthcoming fundraising book, The Record, and it was a fascinating, and enlightening experience listening to her story, and talking at length about bowel cancer. Deborah, married with two young children, has an aggressive form of stage 4 bowel cancer. Since her diagnosis she has played a major role in raising awareness about the disease, as well as raising a considerable amount of money for Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity.
She uses the "Bowel Babe" name on social media, and I would highly recommend following her instagram account. She leads her life at 100 miles an hour - I would compare her to a human hurricane! She spoke with passion about bowel cancer, but also with a lot of common sense. Since her diagnosis she has undergone a gruelling course of chemotherapy as well as surgery, and not surprisingly there are times when she is completely wiped out, but she keeps bouncing back and she refuses to let cancer rule her life. We chatted for about 3 hours with beers and wine as refreshments, and although the conversation covered every aspect surrounding her illness, Deborah was great fun, a master of fruity language, and with laughter never too far away. It really is a great chapter for the book. She is a really inspiring individual. She has recently become involved in a new podcast "You, Me and the Big C" #youmebigc which is well worth checking out.
Bowel cancer is the second highest cancer killer in the UK claiming 16,000 lives each year. However if detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. A massive challenge is to improve the early detection rates giving more patients a better chance of living longer. At the moment only 15% of patients get diagnosed at stage 1. My mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012, and sadly passed away in August 2016. Although her bowel operation was successful, the cancer spread to her lungs, and then finally to her brain.
For almost six years now I have been fundraising for Beating Bowel Cancer / Bowel Cancer UK, and since we lost mum all my fundraising is being done in her memory. As well as my books, I am currently doing a roaring trade in t-shirts and wristbands. Please visit my www.bowelcancerfundraising.co.uk website, which has so far raised over £3750 for the charity.
