'The hole in our heart will always be there'

The mother of late cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James says her grief will never go away and she must "learn to live alongside it".

Dame Deborah, who died in 2022 at the age of 40, was widely acclaimed for her efforts to raise awareness of, and funds for, bowel cancer.

Heather James, from Woking, spoke to BBC Radio Five Live about her daughter ahead of World Cancer Day on Wednesday.

She was joined by Gayna Hodges, whose daughter Rachael Bland was Dame Deborah's original co-host on the BBC's You, Me and the Big C podcast.

Like Dame Deborah, BBC presenter Bland was just 40 when she died from breast cancer in 2018 after undergoing treatment at the Christie Hospital in Manchester.

Their mothers, meeting for the first time, discussed the legacy of their daughters and how to navigate the most profound loss.

James said before Dame Deborah was a journalist and campaigner, she was a "very determined, strong-willed" child.

"She was always so full of life [and] happy...and again, what she wanted, she was out to get," she said.

Bland was the same, said Hodges.

"From being a very little girl, she knew what she wanted to do. She went to do work experience from school. She came home the first day and said, "I know what I want to be - I want to be a broadcast journalist."

You, Me and the Big C, an award-winning podcast which they latterly co-hosted with Lauren Mahon, was described as a "candid look at cancer".

James said: "I actually love listening to the podcast and hearing my daughter's voice again...I think the chemistry between the three made it."

Dame Deborah's philanthropic impact lives on in the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, which was established in May 2022.

According to James, the fund has so far raised £19m, "which is just amazing when you think Deborah's first target was £250,000".

"Over £17 million we've committed to over 12 projects in what Deborah would have wanted, [for] research, early diagnosis," she added.

Deborah's efforts saw her receive a damehood from Prince William at her family home in May 2022.

When faced with difficult moments, James says she draws inspiration from her daughter.

She said: "Grief - I think I've had to learn it will never go, but I have to learn to live alongside it.

"Every time I feel a bit down I think, 'no, Deborah would say no, get up, get out and go and do something'.

"It is difficult... and the hole in our heart will always be there."

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