She doesn’t know how long she has to live, but in her final days, BBC presenter Deborah James launches fundraiser after fundraiser. And for cancer relief. In an interview, she spoke about this intense time.
A good two weeks ago, Deborah James told her followers on Instagram that she didn’t have long to live: she was in palliative care. The British presenter has been publicly campaigning for education on the subject since she was diagnosed with colon cancer six years ago, including with a BBC podcast. And that’s exactly what the mother of two is doing in the last days of her life – with overwhelming success.
The “Bowelbabe Fund” she created, which benefits British cancer aid, has raised over six million pounds in a very short time. This is also due to the fact that James organizes one fundraiser after the next, despite dwindling strength. A species of rose was recently named after her. She received the white blooming flowers in person in a wheelchair and said £2.50 per sale will go to her foundation. Her new book, How to live when you could be dead, will also donate £3 from every sale in the UK. The release was even brought forward to August – whether James will live to see it is uncertain. Because she was exhausted, as she said in an interview with the “Sun”.
You don’t want your children to see you suffer
“But it doesn’t feel like I’m on my deathbed. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, but it’s just unpredictable,” said the 40-year-old. The truth is that she doesn’t know how long she has left. “I’m afraid to sleep and that’s the main reason why I’m so tired. I’m afraid to go to sleep,” she says. It is particularly important to her that her children do not experience her in pain or in despair. “I want them to have good memories,” James said.
This also includes her latest project: together with the online shop “In the Style” she has designed her own fashion collection. She already wore clothes from it at her last public appearances, for example when she met Prince William, who ennobled her to the “lady”. The highlight: All profits are donated. “I would like to see the foundation hit the seven million mark,” says James. Her medical team gave her about a week to live when she was discharged. Now there are already two. “The worst part is not knowing,” James said.
