Prince William and Kate Middleton have sent a personal message to Deborah James following her tragic health update.
The author, podcaster and cancer campaigner posted a final goodbye to her online friends and followers just days ago, announcing she has been moved to at-home hospice care.
Deborah was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and was previously keeping her fans and family members updated through her Instagram account ‘Bowel Babe’.
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Following her heart-wrenching final post, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took to Twitter on Wednesday to extend their ‘thoughts’ to the campaigner and to her family and friends.
“Every now and then, someone captures the heart of the nation with their zest for life & tenacious desire to give back to society. @bowelbabe is one of those special people. Her tireless efforts to raise awareness of bowel cancer & end the stigma of treatment are inspiring,” they wrote.
“We are so sad to hear her recent update but pleased to support the @bowelbabef, which will benefit the @royalmarsdenNHS among others.
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“Deborah, our thoughts are with you, your family and your friends,” they tweeted. “Thank you for giving hope to so many who are living with cancer. W & C.”
The You, Me & The Big C presenter was treated at the Royal Marsden hospital, in which William is patron, and of which is one of the beneficiaries of her Bowel Babe Fund.
However, after a gruelling few months, Deborah revealed: "My body just can't continue anymore."
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She has since posted on her Instagram story to share the ‘generosity’ of her followers, who helped to raise over £1 million, at the time of writing, for her fund, which will be donated to Cancer Research UK, among other charities.
She wrote: “I’m utterly blown away by your generosity over the last 12 hours! To think you have raised over £600K for vital research is just filling me with so much love.
“You are the kindest people. Thank you,” she wrote.
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She continued on to her next story: “I never in my wildest dreams thought we’d be waking up to this total 12 hours later.
“I’m actually crying! Because I know we can continue to help fund some really vital projects @cr_uk @royalmarsden and @bowelcanceruk with this money.”
You can donate to the Bowel Babe fund here.
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, Royal Family, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Real Life