Dame Deborah James died yesterday (28 June) after a courageous battle with bowel cancer, and her last message was to spread awareness.
The journalist and campaigner, 40, left her poignant final message with her family, who passed it on after announcing her death.
She said: "Find a life worth enjoying, take risks, love deeply, have no regrets, and always, always have rebellious hope.
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"And finally, check your poo - it could just save your life."
Deborah was first diagnosed with bowel cancer back in 2016, and she went on an inspiring journey to break the stigma around the disease which often first manifests in a person's poo.
She announced in May of this year that she was receiving palliative care for the illness and asked her followers to donate the cost of a drink to her Bowelbabe Fund.
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She wrote: "All I ask, if you ever read a column, followed my Instagram, listened to the podcast or saw me dressed as a poo for no reason, please buy me a drink to see me out this world, by donating the cost to @bowelbabefund which will enable us to raise funds for further lifesaving research into cancer. To give more Deborahs more time!"
Deborah also used her final TV appearance E4's Embarrassing Bodies on 16 June to help raise awareness of the disease.
She said of her symptoms: "I started going to poo - we need to say that - eight times a day. And I used to be a once-a-day kind of girl.
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"Then I started getting really tired and I remember drinking loads of cups of coffee just to try and keep myself awake. Then I started losing loads of weight and I started having blood in my poo."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid tribute to Deborah, who was made a Dame this year, in a tweet that read: "We are so sad to hear the heartbreaking news about Dame Deborah. Our thoughts are with her children, her family and her loved ones. Deborah was an inspirational and unfalteringly brave woman whose legacy will live on."
Deborah is survived by her husband Sebastian, who she married in 2008, and her two young children, Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12.
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If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week
Topics: News
Emma Guinness