Coming up for a year ago, last September, I spent a really nice evening in the company of Deborah James in Richmond. She'd happily agreed to be in my forthcoming fundraising book, The Record, which I am hoping will be published in spring 2019. 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. She uses the "Bowel Babe" name on social media, and I would highly recommend following her. She leads her life at 100 miles an hour - I would compare her to a human hurricane! She spoke with great 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 three 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. She is a really inspiring individual, and it really is a great chapter for the book. Deborah is also involved in the enlightening and successful podcast "You, Me and the Big C" #youmebigc which is well worth checking out. The number one podcast features Deborah, along with Rachael Bland and Lauren Mahon talking about living with cancer. It will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, but it's a brilliant listen. Very sadly Rachael died last week, so my thoughts are very much with her family and friends at this time.
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 bowel cancer patients are diagnosed at the early stage 1. I am writing the book in memory of my mum, who sadly passed away from bowel cancer in August 2016. All funds raised from sales of this book will be donated to Bowel Cancer UK (Beating Bowel Cancer Together), who have recently joined together, to become the UK's leading bowel cancer charity. Please visit my ETSY online store where there is a whole range of items that can be purchased to raise funds for the charity. Over £4000 has been raised so far.
