Deborah James’s family urge political parties to commit to long-term cancer plan

The family of Dame Deborah James have written a letter urging all UK political parties to commit to a long-term cancer strategy “to give more people affected by cancer more time with the people they love”.

Dame Deborah died in June 2022 at the age of 40, five years after she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

She used her diagnosis to raise awareness of the disease and set up the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, which has raised more than £12 million.

In a letter published in the Sun newspaper, Dame Deborah’s husband Sebastien Bowen, her parents Alistair and Heather James and her siblings Ben James and Sarah Wieczorek, said they are joining Cancer Research UK in their Longer, Better Lives manifesto.

The manifesto calls for the Government to publish a long-term cancer strategy within one year of the general election, to “drive earlier diagnosis and reduce inequalities in access to treatment and care”.

“That is why we are calling on all political parties to make the upcoming general election a landmark moment by committing to a long-term cancer strategy for England, helping to give more people affected by cancer more time with the people they love,” the letter said.

“Sadly, we are not unique as a family in losing a loved one too soon to cancer.

“Many families across the country feel the same heartbreak every day. But it does not have to be this way.

“People affected by cancer must be at the heart of this general election.”

In the letter, Dame Deborah’s family described the You, Me And The Big C podcast host as having “smashed stigmas around cancer” as well as being a “passionate advocate of the importance of early diagnosis”.

“Diagnosing cancer at an earlier stage saves lives,” the family added.

They said the strategy should include increases in the NHS cancer workforce and investment in “vital diagnosis equipment to ensure everyone who needs it can access the right test, in the right place, at the right time”.

It comes weeks after analysis by the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK announced that cases of bowel cancer are set to rise significantly by 2040.

Bowel cancer cases will rise from the 42,800 currently diagnosed cases each year to 47,700 due to a growing and ageing population, the statistics stated.