Steve Bland pays tribute to 'wonderful' friend Dame Deborah James

Widower of Dame Deborah James’ podcast co-host Rachael Bland pays tribute to his ‘wonderful’ friend, saying she ‘supported him through some of the toughest times of his life’ after his wife’s death from cancer in 2018

  • Steve Bland, 41, has paid tribute to Deborah James following her death aged 40
  • Deborah co-presented You, Me and the Big C with his late wife Rachael 
  • Mother-of-one Rachael died from breast cancer in September 2018, aged 40
  • Steve praised ‘inspirational’ Deborah for supporting him in the ‘toughest times’ 
  • Read more: Lorraine and Susanna Reid pay tribute to ‘remarkable’ friend 
  • You can donate to Deborah James’ BowelBabeFund here

The widower of Dame Deborah James podcast co-presenter has paid tribute to his ‘wonderful, beautiful, inspirational’ friend following her death aged 40. 

Steve Bland, 41, whose wife Rachael died from breast cancer at the same age in 2018, thanked mother-of-two Deborah for her unwavering support, saying she ‘supported Rachael and then me through some of the toughest times of our lives’.

‘To so many people she was this kick a** cancer campaigner,’ the father-of-one wrote in an Instagram post shared this morning. 

‘To me and those of us who were lucky enough to know her well, she was just our friend, and I’m going to miss her so so much.

Tribute: Steve Bland, the widower of Dame Deborah James podcast co-presenter has paid tribute to his ‘wonderful, beautiful, inspirational’ friend following her death aged 40

Treasured memories: Steve Bland, 41, whose wife Rachael died from breast cancer at the same age in 2018, thanked mother-of-two Deborah for her unwavering support, saying she ‘supported Rachael and then me through some of the toughest times of our lives’. Pictured, Steve Bland (back left) with Deborah (bottom left) and co-presenter Lauren Mahon


Dame Deborah’s death was announced on Instagram last night in a post that revealed that she was surrounded by her family after months of end of life care at her parents’ house in Surrey 

‘I’ve got so much more to say and I’m sure I’ll get chance to say it. But for now, sleep easy gorgeous Deb. You achieved everything, you changed the world and I’m so proud of you.’

Britain is grieving Dame today as she used her final message to the world to urge people to ‘take risks, love deeply – and check your poo – it could save your life’ and her bereft family posted a video of her dancing in the sunset following her death aged just 40.

The campaigner’s Bowelbabe fund surged past £6.8million in the hours after it was revealed the mother-of-two had passed away as people described how her tireless campaigning while she battled terminal cancer herself had saved their lives. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today paid tribute to Dame Deborah James who died from bowel cancer last night aged just 40 and called her an ‘inspirational and unfalteringly brave woman whose legacy will live on’. 

Legacy: Deborah and cancer activist Lauren Mahon co-presented BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C with Rachael from March 2018 until her death later that year. In the years since her death, Steve, who shares son Freddie with his late wife, has occasionally joined Deborah and Lauren to present the podcast. Pictured, Steve with Deborah and Lauren

Close friends: Steve shared a number of moving images in tribute to Deborah, including the one above

Campaigning: Steve posing in a photo with Deborah and co-presenter Lauren to raise awareness

Constant support: Steve revealed that he ‘didn’t know Deborah’ that well before Rachael’s death almost four years ago but that she stepped up to support him in the final weeks of his wife’s life. Above, Steve with Deborah and his fiancee Amy

‘Sleep easy, gorgeous Deb’: Steve Bland’s emotional tribute in full 

I genuinely don’t know where to even start with finding the right words for our wonderful, beautiful, inspirational Deb.

I guess I’ll tell you a little about the Deb that we were lucky enough to know. The Deb who was the first to call if ever she thought I was having a tough time. The Deb who supported Rachael and then me through some of the toughest times of our lives. The Deb who adored her beautiful family, Seb, Eloise, Hugo, Heather, Alistair, Sarah and Ben. The Deb who was the life and soul of every single party. The Deb who was every bit as wonderful when the mic was off as she was when it was switched on. She had an infectious energy that people just gravitated to.

So much has rightly been made of what she achieved in the last weeks of her life. But I know she’d want me to point out that she’s been busy changing the world and making millions of people’s lives better since the moment she was diagnosed in 2016. The money and the Damehood is all amazing, but how many of us will be able to look back on our lives and say that people are alive becomes of what we’ve done? Deb can. She banged the drum for bowel cancer to educate us all on the symptoms, and she tirelessly campaigned for drugs and treatments to be made available. Thousands of people are alive today because of Deb.

We didn’t know each other that well before Rach died. In fact, Deb’s first text to me was just before she died in 2018. No gushy stuff – just ‘how can I help?’ To so many people she was this kick ass cancer campaigner. To me and those of us who were lucky enough to know her well, she was just our friend, and I’m going to miss her so so much. I’ll even miss the streams of WhatsApps in the middle of the night when she was on steroids!

I’ve got so much more to say and I’m sure I’ll get chance to say it. But for now, sleep easy gorgeous Deb. You achieved everything, you changed the world and I’m so proud of you.

“Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo – it could just save your life.”

Deborah and cancer activist Lauren Mahon co-presented BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C with Rachael from March 2018 until her death later that year.

Rachael used the podcast as a platform to announce she had just days to live. 

In the years since her death, Steve, who shares son Freddie with his late wife, has occasionally joined Deborah and Lauren to present the podcast and remains committed to raising awareness. 

Steve revealed that he ‘didn’t know Deborah’ that well before Rachael’s death almost four years ago but that she stepped up to support him in the final weeks of his wife’s life. 

Deborah and Steve were good friends. Steve described her work over the last seven weeks as ‘madness’ which has included a clothing line, best-selling book and campaigning to get supermarkets to put bowel cancer symptoms on their toilet rolls 

‘Deb’s first text to me was just before she died in 2018. No gushy stuff – just “how can I help?”,’ he wrote on Instagram. 

‘I guess I’ll tell you a little about the Deb that we were lucky enough to know. The Deb who was the first to call if ever she thought I was having a tough time. 

‘The Deb who supported Rachael and then me through some of the toughest times of our lives. The Deb who adored her beautiful family, Seb, Eloise, Hugo, Heather, Alistair, Sarah and Ben. 

‘The Deb who was the life and soul of every single party. The Deb who was every bit as wonderful when the mic was off as she was when it was switched on. She had an infectious energy that people just gravitated to.’

Steve noted Deborah’s work campaigning and fundraising began shortly after her diagnosis in 2016. 

The money and the Damehood is all amazing, but how many of us will be able to look back on our lives and say that people are alive becomes of what we’ve done? Deb can,’ he continued. 

‘She banged the drum for bowel cancer to educate us all on the symptoms, and she tirelessly campaigned for drugs and treatments to be made available. Thousands of people are alive today because of Deb.’

The post was met with hundreds of messages of support from friends and family, including presenter Gaby Roslin, who wrote: ‘Oh Steve that’s so beautiful and so incredibly moving. She adored you. What a woman. 

‘What a dear sweet funny brilliant woman Deborah was. What she has done to help so many is beyond words. Sending you so much love.’

Steve, who is set to wed fiancée Amy after popping the question on a holiday to Denmark at the end of last year, also paid tribute to Deborah during an appearance on Lorraine.   

He said: ‘Last night was very odd and surreal. I was awake at the crack of dawn this morning and it just hit me. We have known for five years that this was coming. That makes what she has done in those five years all the more remarkable.’

Lorraine reflected on her ‘remarkable energy’ and added that if Deborah James wanted to get something done then she would do it.

Steve quipped: ‘It was often the power of steroids. When she was on one of her steroids she used to bombard us and you would just wake up in the morning and there would be 100 messages of all these different ideas. 

‘She had an unbelievable zest for life and lived every single moment and packed as much as she could possibly do. 

He added that she had done just that in the last seven weeks including having her clothing line, continued campaigning and becoming a Dame.

Steve said: ‘Honestly who does that? It’s just madness.’

Lorraine said that Deborah did things on her own terms and was ‘very matter of fact’ about everything.

Steve replied: ‘I think she took a lot of inspiration from Rachel.

‘She was messaging me last week asking about how I organised the funeral. She was super organised and did it all on her terms.’

You can donate to Deborah James’ BowelBabeFund here

Dame Deborah saved our lives: Cancer survivors praise the campaigner for raising awareness – as one mother says, ‘I realised if she could get cancer then so could I’

Dame Deborah James campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms as she battled the disease herself, and in the process saved the lives of countless others who sought an early diagnosis. 

Cancer survivors from across the UK have thanked Dame Deborah for her selfless work, telling how they went to the GP after hearing her story during her regular TV appearances and episodes of her BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C. 

‘Without her campaigning I wouldn’t have kept going back to me GP,’ survivor Teresa Whitfield said today. ‘She triggered something in me. And I’m now cancer free. She did save my life. I can only say thank you. Without her I don’t think I would be here today.’

BBC Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, who this week announced she had been given the all-clear after receiving treatment for bowel cancer, was also helped by Dame Deborah’s efforts. 

‘I truly believe what Deborah and others like her have done to get the message out – that bowel cancer can happen to anyone, at any age – was a huge factor in Adele’s symptoms being taken seriously and getting her seen for a colonoscopy as quickly as she was,’ her girlfriend Kate Holderness said. 

I THOUGHT ‘IF SHE CAN HAVE CANCER THEN SO CAN I’ 

Bowel cancer survivor Margaret Murtagh, 41, from London, told how listening to Dame Deborah James’ podcast saved her life after realising she was suffering from similar symptoms, which she had initially dismissed because she was a busy, active single mother-of-two. 

‘If she can have cancer, so can I’: Bowel cancer survivor Margaret Murtagh, 41, from London, told how listening to Dame Deborah James’ podcast saved her life after realising she was suffering from similar symptoms, which she had initially dismissed

Full of energy: Margaret told GB News how Deborah had been selfless and full of energy, even as she fought her own battle with the disease. Pictured, the women at a charity event

Margaret Murtagh, 41 from London started experiencing a change in bowel habit and fatigue, she put it down to her diet and being a single mother-of-two. 

It was around the time of the death of BBC presenter Rachael Bland, Deborah’s podcast co-host, who lost her battle with breast cancer in September 2018. 

Margaret recalled how she kept seeing Deborah on TV and online as news outlets covered Rachael Bland’s death. 

Did YOU seek treatment thanks to Dame Deborah’s tireless work? 

Please email [email protected] if you would like to share your story.  

It was only when she followed Deborah’s ‘Bowelbabe’ Instagram account and listened to the You, Me and the Big C podcast that she realised she was experiencing what could be the symptoms of bowel cancer. 

‘It struck me really, really, really clearly. We were both of a similar age, with both had two kids, both lived in London, we were both runners, we were both healthy, we didn’t look like we could have cancer,’ she told GB News today. 

‘I heard her story and I thought, “oh my gosh, if she can have cancer, then so can I”. That’s when I started taking my symptoms really seriously and I rang my GP the next day…

‘I was 38 when I was diagnosed, Deborah was 35. She made you think, “goodness, don’t just rest on your laurels and think I’m a runner, I eat loads of veg, I don’t eat processed meat.” 

‘Don’t just assume that you’re healthy, that you can’t get bowel cancer because you can. It happened to her and it happened to me.’ 

Margaret was diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer in January 2019. She underwent a colonoscopy and was later given the all-clear. 

MY SYMPTOMS WERE TAKEN SERIOUSLY 

Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, 43, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021. On Monday, she revealed she has been given the all-clear. 

Survivor: Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, 43, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021. On Monday, she revealed she has been given the all-clear

Grateful: The DJ’s girlfriend Kate Holderness (pictured together) has spoken of how Dame Deborah’s tireless campaigning and fundraising efforts helped raise awareness of the disease to the point where Adele’s symptoms were ‘taken seriously’

Adele Roberts underwent colostomy surgery to remove a bowel tumor after being diagnosed with cancer.

Like Dame Deborah, Adele Roberts has offered a deeply personal look at her bowel cancer battle via social media. 

Following the news of the campaigner’s death, Roberts shared a simple post that read: ‘Thank you for everything Deborah. 

‘Thank you for being so strong for so long and helping others when you were in so much pain yourself.

‘You are the best of us. Thinking of your family and friends and I am forever grateful to you for helping me and my family.’

It came hours after she was given the all-clear from the disease. 

The DJ’s girlfriend Kate Holderness has spoken of how Dame Deborah’s tireless campaigning and fundraising efforts helped raise awareness of the disease to the point where Adele’s symptoms were ‘taken seriously’.

‘I truly believe what Deborah and others like her have done to get the message out – that bowel cancer can happen to anyone, at any age – was a huge factor in Adele’s symptoms being taken seriously and getting her seen for a colonoscopy as quickly as she was,’ Kate wrote on Instagram. 

‘Thank you for everything you’ve done Deborah, and for what your legacy will continue to do.’

I WAS CLEANING THE KITCHEN AND STOPPED IN MY TRACKS

Mother-of-four Tracey O’Keefe, of Glasgow, was diagnosed with anal cancer after watching Dame Deborah James on ITV’s Lorraine in April 2018. She recognised she was suffering from similar symptoms and insisted she was referred to a specialist.

Stopped in her tracks: Mother-of-four Tracey O’Keefe, of Glasgow, was diagnosed with anal cancer after watching Dame Deborah James on ITV’s Lorraine in April 2018. She recognised she was suffering from similar symptoms and insisted she was referred to a specialist

Life saving: Tracey appeared alongside Deborah in a December 2018 episode of Lorraine

‘I was just cleaning up the kitchen and I heard her talking about her symptoms,’ Tracey told Lorraine in a December 2018 appearance. 

“I looked at her and thought she didn’t look like somebody who would have cancer. And that really hit home because I thought, “I have all those symptoms too”.

BOWEL CANCER: THE SYMPTOMS YOU SHOULDN’T IGNORE 

Bowel, or colorectal, cancer affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.

Such tumours usually develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps.

Symptoms include:

  • Bleeding from the bottom
  • Blood in stools
  • A change in bowel habits lasting at least three weeks
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Extreme, unexplained tiredness
  • Abdominal pain

Most cases have no clear cause, however, people are more at risk if they: 

  • Are over 50
  • Have a family history of the condition
  • Have a personal history of polyps in their bowel
  • Suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease
  • Lead an unhealthy lifestyle  

Treatment usually involves surgery, and chemo- and radiotherapy.

More than nine out of 10 people with stage one bowel cancer survive five years or more after their diagnosis.

This drops significantly if it is diagnosed in later stages. 

According to Bowel Cancer UK figures, more than 41,200 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK. 

It affects around 40 per 100,000 adults per year in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Tracey had previously sought treatment for her symptoms but returned to the GP after watching the Lorraine segment and insisted on being referred to a specialist.

When she was met with delays on securing an appointment, Tracey took matters into her own hands and paid to see a doctor privately. 

She was diagnosed with a 4cm tumour. At the time of the interview, Tracey had received treatment and had a positive prognosis.  

Tracey admitted she had been embarrassed to seek help because her symptoms affected her bowels.

‘I was embarrassed and I apologised every time I went to the GP. I went in saying, “sorry, it’s me again, I’ve still got this. I’ve still got a wee bit of blood, I’m still pooing really strangely”.

‘It was a change in bowel habits, different shape, frequency, everything – all the classic symptoms.

‘I had the weight loss as well. Like Deborah, I did think it’s because I’m doing more yoga and I’m watching what I eat. But I had a gut feeling.’

‘DEBORAH, WITHOUT YOU I WOULD BE DEAD’

Marketing consultant Teresa Whitfield, 41, lives in south London with her husband and teenage daughter. She wrote an emotional open letter to Dame Deborah, published by OK!

‘I remember having an upset stomach and blood in my poo on holiday in July 2018 and thinking, my body’s trying to tell me something. I put it down to dodgy food,’ she wrote. 

‘But my poo didn’t look normal – more like undigested tomatoes – and I developed a pain on the left side of my abdomen. I didn’t know what the symptoms of bowel cancer were. It didn’t even register with me.

‘That October, I saw you raising awareness on the Lorraine show and the penny dropped like a stone. You spoke about bowel cancer so openly and a feeling of impending doom washed over me.’

Teresa was eventually diagnosed with stage 2 bowel cancer after seeking private treatment after her NHS GP failed to take her symptoms seriously.

She underwent an operation to remove a tumour and received chemotherapy. Now the proud mother-of-one is planning her retirement with her husband and looking forward to seeing her daughter grow up. 

‘Dame Deborah, without you I promise I’d be dead,’ she added.

SHE INSPIRED US TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL

Bowel cancer survivor Dr Anisha Patel, of Surrey, was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in September 2018, aged 39. She credits Dame Deborah with transforming the cancer community and showing everyone how to ‘live life to the full’. 

Shining light: Bowel cancer survivor Dr Anisha Patel, of Surrey, was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in September 2018, aged 39. She credits Dame Deborah with transforming the cancer community and showing everyone how to ‘live life to the full’ 

‘She stops us from feeling alone, we feel seen because of her,’ she told i.  ‘She has showed us there is life for those of us living with cancer and she has changed the terminology around it.

‘Just because you have stage four cancer doesn’t mean you are terminal, it means you are living with cancer. 

‘She inspires all of us to live life to the full and not take anything for granted.’

Dr Patel, a mother-of-two, said she thought she was suffering from new-onset IBS symptoms, including tiredness, some urgency in needing to go to the toilet and fresh blood on the toilet paper. 

‘I finally spoke to my husband [a consultant Gastroenterologist] about my symptoms as I felt that things weren’t settling. I knew something just wasn’t right, and he suggested I should get checked by a GP,’ she wrote in a Bowel Cancer UK post. 

Eventually Dr Patel was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer. Since being given the all-clear, the GP has dedicated herself to raising awareness of the disease and frequently appears on ITV’s Lorraine to promote the NoButts campaign. 

She paid tribute to Dame Deborah yesterday: ‘You will never know the impact you had upon the millions of lives you touched in so many ways. And the legacy you leave will continue to do so.

‘You have been the beacon for Bowel cancer amongst so many other things. And a pillar for our cancer community.’

How Dame Deborah transformed bowel cancer awareness 

  • In December 2016, the West London mother-of-two, a deputy head, was diagnosed ‘late’ with incurable bowel cancer
  • After sharing her experiences on living with the disease on social media, Deborah became known as the ‘Bowel Babe’ 
  • In 2018, she became one of three presenters on Radio 5 Live’s You, Me and the Big C, which was conceived by her late co-host Rachael Bland 
  • On September 5 2018, Welsh journalist and presenter Bland, diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, died at the age of 40
  • Deborah and her co-host Lauren Mahon continued to present the show, with Steve Bland, Rachael’s husband, joining the duo
  • On social media and in her column for The Sun newspaper, Deborah documented the many chemo, radiotherapy sessions and surgery she’d had since
  • In 2019, she had a procedure known as CyberKnife, a highly targeted form of radiotherapy to attack an inoperable lymph node close to her liver
  •  The pandemic’s impact on cancer services saw her campaign for care to continue as normal and, earlier this year, she launched the ITV’s Lorraine’s ‘No Butts’ campaign, raising awareness on bowel cancer symptoms 
  • Since last year, she had been taking new experimental drugs as part of a trial after her oncology team gave her the green light to do so
  • In August, Deborah revealed that scans she’d had in recent days revealed her cancer had gone in the ‘wrong direction very quickly’  
  • She told followers she would be taking a break on social media over the weekend to ‘snuggle’ with her family ahead of more scans
  • The mother-of-two said a new ‘rapidly-growing’ tumour near her liver had wrapped itself around her bowel 
  • On October 1, Deborah celebrated her 40th birthday 
  • By October 18, the mother-of-two told her followers her chemotherapy was working
  • Days later, she was rushed to A&E with ‘spiking 40 degree temperatures’
  • In November, she revealed she is unable to walk for more than 20 minutes and remained ‘very weak’
  • By December, Deborah said she was ‘not sure what her options were’ after her liver stent ‘stopped working’ 
  • In January, she had five operations in 10 days after nearly dying in an acute medical emergency
  • On January 25, Deborah returned home from hospital after three weeks 
  • On March 14, the mother-of-two was back in hospital as an in-patient after suffering from septic infection
  • In April, she concerned fans with snaps after suffering ‘a rough few days’
  • On April 14, the mother-of-two told fans she had been discharged from hospital but called the situation ‘very tough’
  • On April 27, she told Lorraine Kelly that she had spent ’80 per cent’ of the year in hospital 
  • On May 9, Deborah announced she had moved to hospice care  

 

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