Royal Marsden: Last News

Dame Deborah James, the much loved star better known to the world as Bowel Babe, has revealed how she was taken under the wing of her fellow long-term cancer patients ahead of her death. The late star, who passed away in June after a long battle with bowel cancer, revealed the kindness of her fellow patients in an extract from her, book How To Live When You Could Be Dead.

Sebastien Bowen, the widower of the late Dame Deborah James, has discussed their final months together in a moving tribute.The London banker discussed how even the doctors “were in tears” when Deborah was moved on to end of life care. Sebastien’s late wife Deborah died two months ago after a five-year-long battle with incurable bowel cancer. On June 28, Deborah died at the age of 40 surrounded by her friends and family, after raising millions for cancer charities. Deborah used her voice on the BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C, as well as on her Instagram @Bowelbabe to raise awareness for the disease. The presenter and Sebastien are parents to 14-year-old son Hugo and a daughter called Eloise, 12.In Deborah’s final few weeks, she returned to her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey, to spend time with her family before her death. Sebastien recalled the heartbreaking moment it was decided Deborah had to be placed on end-of-life care after bravely fighting for five years. “She came home from the Royal Marsden when they couldn’t do any more, and even the doctors who had been looking after her for the past five years and were cut from steel were in tears,” he explained.“We were told she might not make it to the weekend but, somehow, she found this inner strength and managed another eight weeks. “They were some of the most mind-blowing, magical days of both our lives.”Later on in his interview with The Times, he went on to speak about how full of life Deborah was.“She was making the most of every last moment. But that was her,” he reflected.

Duke of Cambridge visited her at her parents' home in Woking, Surrey, to personally hand over the honour.The former headteacher has been campaigning for cancer and has since been moved to hospice care with her family after battling stage four bowel cancer since 2016.Taking to her Instagram stories today, the 40-year-old shared her "Thought of the day..."In view of her 736,000 followers, the campaigner shared a candid quote she received from a late friend.Deborah wrote: "A late friend once told me to embrace the rain, because you never knew when the last time you might feel the rain on your face is... so am embracing it! Albeit with blankets."Her candid message comes just days after the podcast host enjoyed an afternoon of tea and champagne with Prince William, as he presented her with a Damehood for her tireless fundraising efforts.Her Bowel Babe fund, which was launched last week to raise money for Cancer Research UK, has received more than £6million in donations.Sharing pictures of their meeting on Instagram, Deborah penned: "Prince William actually came to our family house today!"I am utterly honoured that he joined us for afternoon tea and champagne, where he not only spent a generous amount of time talking to my whole family but also honoured me with my Damehood."She continued: "It’s quite surreal having a royal pop in at home, and yes you can imagine the cleaning antics and preparation went off the scale - but it was all irrelevant because William was so kind and he put us all at ease."He is clearly passionate about improving oncology outcomes as the President of the Royal Marsden."It was such a special day for my whole family, making memories to last a lifetime.

Deborah James received a Damehood, with Prince William paying a visit to the British TV host’s home to present her with the distinguished honour in person.

The Duke of Cambridge has presented podcast host Deborah James with a damehood at her family home - popping in and enjoying a glass of champagne in the sun. The 40-year-old, known online as Bowel Babe, was honoured for her 'tireless campaigning' to raise awareness of bowel cancer.

The Duke of Cambridge has presented podcast host Deborah James with a damehood at her family home.

Deborah James has shared a series of snaps with Prince William after the Duke of Cambridge visited her at her family home. Earlier today, it was revealed that Deborah - who is tragically dying of bowel cancer - has raised a staggering £5 million in a matter of days for Cancer Research, sparking people to campaign for her to be made a Dame. Sharing photos with the Prince on Instagram, Deborah, 40, gushed over how "surreal" it was to meet the 39 year old Royal.

Deborah James has expressed her delight after receiving a visit in person from Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, as he awarded her Damehood and joined her for afternoon tea and champagne.This week, it was announced that Deborah had been made a Dame after raising millions of pounds for cancer research in her fundraiser, with her latest total surpassing £5million.The podcaster was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016, revealing on Monday that she had moved to end-of-life hospice care after her treatment had been stopped.In a post shared on social media, the 40-year-old said she was ‘utterly honoured’ to host Prince William at her family house, saying: ‘He joined us for afternoon tea and champagne, where he not only spent a generous amount of time talking to my whole family but also honoured me with my Damehood.’‘It’s quite surreal having a royal pop in at home, and yes you can imagine the cleaning antics and preparation went off the scale – but it was all irrelevant because William was so kind and he put us all at ease,’ she said.‘He is clearly passionate about improving oncology outcomes as the President of the Royal Marsden. It was such a special day for my whole family, making memories to last a lifetime.

Deborah James, 40, took to Instagram this evening to reveal to her 621,000 followers that Prince William had paid her a visit at home.The BBC podcast host has been honoured with a Damehood after raising an incredible £4million for charity, since breaking the sad news earlier this week that she was receiving end of life care following a long battle with bowel cancer. She wrote: “Prince William actually came to our family house today!! “I am utterly honoured that he joined us for afternoon tea and champagne, where he not only spent a generous amount of time talking to my whole family but also honoured me with my Damehood. “It’s quite surreal having a royal pop in at home, and yes you can imagine the cleaning antics and preparation went off the scale - but it was all irrelevant because William was so kind and he put us all at ease. “He is clearly passionate about improving oncology outcomes as the President of the Royal Marsden. “It was such a special day for my whole family, making memories to last a life time. “He’s welcome back any time!” she added.Deborah also shared the snaps to her story, tagging the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. “Most surreal day ever!” she captioned a picture of William posing with the whole family.In another, William posed beside Deborah and her brother Ben.“My favourite pic of the day - my brother and William!” Deborah wrote. Another picture showed Deborah holding up the special medal she received with her Damehood.“Proud,” she captioned the picture, where she could be seen beaming at the camera. Yesterday, Downing Street announced the news of Deborah’s Damehood in a press release, which stated: "The Queen has been pleased to approve that the honour of Damehood be conferred upon Deborah

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have sent a heartfelt message to Deborah James after she revealed her bowel cancer is terminal. Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton have also donated to the charity set up in Deborah's name, the Bowelbabe Fund. Deborah, 40, has been battling bowel cancer since her diagnosis in 2016.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have sent a personal tweet to Deborah James following the devastating news about her terminal cancer. Deborah, 40, is now receiving hospice care at home after stopping her bowel cancer treatment, and could have ‘weeks at most to live’. The You, Me & The Big C presenter was diagnosed with the disease in 2016 and went on to use her ordeal to inspire others to get check-ups and recognise symptoms of bowel cancer. James has been treated at the Royal Marsden hospital, of which William is patron, and it is one of the beneficiaries of her fund.In a tweet on Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said: ‘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.Every now and then, someone captures the heart of the nation with their zest for life & tenacious desire to give back to society.