Prince William and Kate pay emotional tribute to 'inspiring' Deborah James

Virgin Radio

12 May 2022, 08:39

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have written a heartfelt tribute to Deborah James, who was recently moved to hospice care with stage four bowel cancer.

Prince William and Kate took to Twitter to praise the journalist for “giving hope” to others and raising awareness of the illness.

They wrote: “Every now and then, someone captures the heart of the nation with their zest for life & tenacious desire to give back to society.

"Deborah is one of those special people. Her tireless efforts to raise awareness of bowel cancer and end the stigma of treatment are inspiring.

"We are so sad to hear her recent update but pleased to support the @bowelbabef, which will benefit the @royalmarsdenNHS among others,

"Deborah, our thoughts are with you, your family and your friends. Thank you for giving hope to so many who are living with cancer. W & C.”

This comes after Deborah’s fundraiser, in aid of Cancer Research UK, skyrocketed this week. Currently, she has raised over £3 million that will go towards funding clinical trials and research into personalised medicine for cancer patients, as well as supporting campaigns to raise awareness for bowel cancer.

Deborah is receiving hospice care at Royal Marsden, a beneficiary in her fund, which the Duke is also a patron of.

Earlier this week, the BBC presenter, who was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016, posted a message on social media explaining her situation and stating, “nobody knows how long I’ve got left.”

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: “The tweet I never wanted to write. The time has come to say goodbye. 5 years to prepare, doesn’t make it any easy. I’m under hospice at home care, & I’m spending my time surrounded by my family. Please buy me a 🍷 to see me out and raise vital funds. http://bowelbabe.org❤️”.

She also posted a longer message on her Instagram that added: “Nobody knows how long I’ve got left but I’m not able to walk, I’m sleeping most of the days, and most things I took for granted are pipe dreams. I know we have left no stone unturned. But even with all the innovative cancer drugs in the world or some magic new breakthrough, my body just can’t continue anymore.

“Right now for me it’s all about taking it a day at a time, step by step and being grateful for another sunrise. My whole family are around me and we will dance through this together, sunbathing and laughing (I’ll cry!!) at every possible moment! 

“You are all incredible, thank you for playing your part in my journey. No regrets.

Enjoy life x

Deborah”

You can donate to Deborah’s Bowelbabe fundraiser here.