Dame Deborah James died at just 40 years old following a nearly six-year battle with bowel cancer.
Over the course of those years, she dedicated her time to raising awareness about the condition, doing everything she could to help others living with it.
It was this selflessness that got her a damehood in May, just a month before she passed away on June 28.
Bowel cancer is typically associated with older sufferers, with most being over the age of 40 or more commonly, the age of 60.
However, it is essential to understand the signs to look out for, as it can strike anyone at anytime.
Fighting until the end, Deborah shared one final warning over bowel cancer symptoms before she died.
What is bowel cancer?
(Image: bowelbabe/instagram)
Bowel cancer is a general term for cancer that starts in the large bowel.
Depending on where the cancer starts, bowel cancer is also sometime called colon or rectal cancer.
As stated on Bowel Cancer UK: “The cells in your body normally divide and grow in a controlled way. When cancer develops, the cells change and can grow in an uncontrolled way.
“Most bowel cancers develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps. But not all polyps develop into cancer.
“If your doctor finds any polyps, he or she can remove them to prevent them becoming cancerous.”
Typically, most affected by the condition are over the age of 60 but it is important to still regularly check.
What are the early signs of bowel cancer?
(Image: Instagram/ @bowelbabe)
Bowel cancer is particularly dangerous as its symptoms don’t necessarily make you feel ill.
According to the NHS, more than 90% of people with the condition have one of the following symptoms:
- Persistent change in bowel habit – pooing more often, with looser, runnier poos
- Blood in the poo without other symptoms of piles (haemorrhoids)
- Abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating
Checking your poo is one thing Deborah James warned her fans about. In an Instagram post written before her death, she said: “Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo – it could just save your life.”
Deborah’s first symptoms came when she was 35, following a vegetarian diet, not smoking or overweight.
She wrote in her blog in January 2017 that her initial symptoms were unexplained weight loss, finding blood in her poo and “feeling shattered”.
Her GP originally diagnosed her with IBS, but a private colonoscopy picked up an “ugly 5.5cm cancerous, ulcerated tumour” and she was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer.
Elizabeth Rogers, associate clinical director and GP at Bupa UK, explained: “It can be easy to dismiss the symptoms of bowel cancer, and people often put different bowel movements or bloating down to stuff they eat or changes in their body as they get older.
“However, delaying getting help can really put people at risk – like many cancers, if caught early enough bowel cancer is curable.
“If you notice any blood in your poo, changes to your bowel movement, bloating or abdominal pain after eating, see your GP as soon as possible.
“Don’t put it off, early diagnosis really does save lives. Other symptoms include unexplained weight loss and extreme tiredness for no reason.”
Who is at high risk of bowel cancer?
(Image: Bowel Babe/Instagram)
What makes Deborah James’ case especially heartbreaking is how rare it is, as bowel cancer typically affects people over the age of 40.
According to Cancer Research UK: “Bowel cancer is more common in older people. More than 40 out of 100 bowel cancer cases (more than 40%) in the UK each year are diagnosed in people aged 75 or over.”
Alcohol and smoking can also lead to the disease, with the website stating that around six out of 100 bowel cancers in the UK are linked to drinking alcohol.
Seven out of 100 in the UK are linked to smoking, with the risk increasing based on the amount of cigarettes you smoke each day.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
