OK cancer, you chose wrong girl!
BBC star who had 15 tumours reveals she is ‘free of disease’
A BBC podcast presenter who was previously told she had incurable stage four bowel cancer has disclosed that her body is currently ‘free’ of the disease.
Deborah James, 38, who was diagnosed in 2016, told her 90,000 followers on Instagram that her most recent scans show ‘no evidence’ of cancer in her body.
The mother-of-two – who presents the Radio 5 Live podcast You, Me And The Big C – said after ‘ten operations, too many scans, a lot of chemo’ and ‘some fancy drugs’, she is ‘still standing’.
The show’s former presenter Rachael Bland died in 2018 after a battle with breast cancer.
In an emotional post, Miss James wrote: ‘OK cancer – you chose the wrong girl. Three years on, ten operations, too many scans, a lot of chemo, some fancy drugs, lots of tears... I’m still standing – and you (according to my most recent scans) are still sleeping!
‘In fact we have cut you [cancer] out, burnt you, zapped you, ablated you, used radiotherapy, used targeted therapy, used every tool in the book and right now in fact according to my team we are “rewriting the text book”.
‘It’s a bit bonkers (and I haven’t honestly processed this for a few reasons), but right now, I have no evidence of cancer in my body.’
Miss James also explained that at one stage she had ‘15 tumours’ and the statistics were against her. According to Cancer Research UK, only around 10 per cent of women with stage four bowel cancer will survive five years or more after they are diagnosed.
But she said she remained realistic having suffered a previous relapse. Miss James wrote: ‘Yes I’m beyond happy. Have I celebrated? No! (I should!) BUT I’m realistic. Yes, I’m in a place I never thought possible. But I’ve been here once before a few years ago and it was whipped away from me six weeks later!
‘So I’m prepared. We all are. I’m still on treatment. Praying it continues to work. Being beyond grateful to be here today... still taking it one step at a time.’
Miss James published the book F*** You Cancer: How To Face The Big C, Live Your Life And Still Be Yourself in 2018.