Winner
Dame Deborah James (posthumous)
Summary of work
Deborah was a deputy headteacher before being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in 2016 at the age of 35 years. Rather than accepting her fate, she immediately began to campaign for greater awareness among the public; she launched an award-winning BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C, with co-hosts Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland. They spoke to celebrity guests and addressed practical matters including hair loss, tips for dealing with finances and telling your nearest and dearest.
She is an ambassador for Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life and Bowel Cancer UK, has written articles about the disease for national newspapers and is the author of the 2018 book, F*** You Cancer: How to Face the Big C, Live Your Life and Still be Yourself. She writes a blog about her experience with bowel cancer as BowelBabe and established the Bowelbabe Fund in May 2022.
In May 2022 she announced that her active treatment was stopping and that she was moving to hospice at home care and at that point she also started her charity 'BowelBabe Fund' – It has now raised over £6M for bowel cancer charities.
She will have changed the way living with cancer is viewed and at the same time she has raised millions of pounds for research into a cure and treatments for prolonging life for people living with cancer.
Dame Deborah James has died subsequent the writing of the below testimonials.
Testimonials
Deborah’s star shines bright; she is a true inspiration and a powerful patron of Bowel Cancer UK. She has turned her bowel cancer diagnosis into an incredible force for good and through her tireless campaigning will have saved countless lives. She is a compelling communicator and brings warmth, energy and honesty to everything she does. Even during her most difficult times with bowel cancer, she never stopped trying to help others.
Genevieve Edwards, Chief Executive, Bowel Cancer UK
What a powerful, hearbraking listen (You, Me and the Big C). The most amazing human, giving brilliant adivce – enjoy life, it’s precious and check your poo! Thank you Deborah, you’ve changed so many lives
From Twitter
Deborah is the epitome of a healthcare comms advocate. From the moment she was sadly diagnosed with bowel cancer, she fought to better understand, raise awareness and speak out about bowel cancer in a way no way had done before. Unafraid to address the ‘poo taboo’ and ‘rear end talk’ she sought every communications opportunity possible to help get the message out there, whether it was through the You, Me and the Big C podcast, her column in The Sun or the countless campaigns she fronted such as Never Too Young and No Butts. Her communications skills came to the absolute fore in the launch of the legacy BowelBabe fund which will be genuinely game changing for bowel cancer in the UK. She is to be utterly revered by her communications efforts at every stage of her diagnosis.
Angie Wiles, Founder & CEO, The Difference Collective and Trustee, Bowel Cancer UK
