Deborah James has been honored with Damehood after raising nearly $7 million for bowel cancer amid her own battle with the disease.
The popular host of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C recently shared a heartbreaking goodbye with her fans on Instagram, as she revealed that despite trying everything she could to combat her bowel cancer, her body "doesn't want to play ball anymore".
In a post shared on Monday, the 40-year-old mom-of-two then disclosed that she has moved to hospice-at-home care to treat her terminal bowel cancer so she can focus on spending time with her family.
Additionally, James was honored to revealed that she had launched the Bowelbabe Fund with Cancer Research, which aims to "raise money to fund clinical trials and research into personalized medicine for cancer patients and supporting campaigns to raise awareness of bowel cancer."
Since sharing her post earlier this week, the Bowelbabe Fund has amassed over £5,658,000 ($6,939,500 USD).
In recognition of James' incredible efforts to raise awareness and funds for this devastating disease, the UK Royal Family's Prince William paid the presenter a visit to bestow her with Damehood.
The pair even posed with James' family for a series of heartwarming pictures, which the newly honored Dame later shared on Instagram, along with the caption: "Prince William actually came to our family house today!!
"I am utterly honored that he joined us for afternoon tea and champagne, where he not only spent a generous amount of time talking to my whole family but also honored me with my Damehood. It’s quite surreal having a royal pop in at home, and yes you can imagine the cleaning antics and preparation went off the scale - but it was all irrelevant because William was so kind and he put us all at ease."
James added: "He is clearly passionate about improving oncology outcomes as the President of the Royal Marsden. It was such a special day for my whole family, making memories to last a lifetime. He’s welcome back any time!"
The Sun also reports that the Queen was also "pleased" to be able to honor Deborah with the title of Dame.
In a separate post reacting to the huge amount she has helped fundraise for bowel cancer, James wrote: "We’re completely lost for words.
"This is all just beyond anything we could have ever imagined. The last 5 days have been surreal. Thank you for putting a huge smile on my face, and helping us to launch a legacy to hopefully impact a lifetime cutting edge cancer care."
