Dame Debs changed our lives
3 lifted by cancer champ’s spirit
A CANCER patient, widower and a grieving NHS worker told yesterday how their spirits have been lifted by courageous Dame Deborah James.
The trio shared stories of Deborah’s remarkable kindness as she tackled her own illness head-on. The 40-year-old died of bowel cancer last week, aged 40.
Rachel Woods was diagnosed with incurable secondary breast cancer, which spread to her liver, in
2018. As she faced six months of chemotherapy and the prospect of losing her hair,
Rachel tuned in to Deborah’s groundbreaking podcast, You, Me and the Big C.
Mum-of-two Deborah, from London, was famed for her wacky dances as she broadcast messages of hope while raising awareness of bowel cancer.
In the last few months of her life, she also raised more than £7million through her
Bowelbabe Fund. Rachel, 53, said: “I loved Deborah… there was something about her. She was zesty, sexy, funny, courageous and unique.
“She gave me information, knowledge, and someone to look to – and know I could do it too. Thanks to Deborah, I don’t see cancer as a fight, it’s something I need to dance with.”
After being spurred on by Deborah, Rachel, from Caldicot, Monmouthshire, wed Steve, 56, her partner of 10 years.
Rachel still has treatment every three weeks. She said: “Watching Deborah’s pathway has been terrifying, knowing that is ahead of me.
“It’s a reminder I am not getting out of this alive, but it’s about making the most of however long I live.”
Pete Wallroth, who lost his wife to cancer, told how he was struck by Deborah’s “black humour” when he appeared on the You, Me and the Big C podcast in 2019. His wife Mair died in 2012 aged 41, 10 weeks after their son was born. Pete, who was also left to raise his three-yearold daughter alone, went on to launch the charity Mummy’s Star to support those affected by cancer during and after pregnancy.
Pete, 42, said of his podcast chat: “We spent most of the hour laughing about death and dying and having that entitlement to have that dark humour.
“That candidness carried over to her campaigning.”
Pete, from Glossop, Derbys, has since remarried and had a third child.
And NHS ambulance dispatcher Helen Smith told how she lost her mum last Tuesday – the same day Deborah died. Mum-of-two Helen entered a Ryvita competition in 2020, which offered winners an hour-long video call with cancer campaigner Deborah.
Helen, from Garforth, West Yorks, had been working tirelessly during the pandemic while coping with the sudden death of her dad Geoff, 71 – but Deborah urged her to “stay strong”.
Helen, 42, said: “She was really positive and said that just because you are given bad news, it doesn’t define who you are.”
After losing her mum Anne, 69, who contracted sepsis after a fall, Helen added: “It’s nice to think of them up there together. Deborah’s legacy is one of strength in adversity, and that’s how I am going to take this forward.”
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