Deborah James, aka Bowel Babe, candidly shares her story of living with cancer
Teacher turned presenter Deborah James is best known as Bowel Babe after she shared her story about bowel cancer to help change the way we talk about the disease. She co-hosts the award winning podcast, You, Me and The Big C, and recently reported on ‘Britain’s Cancer Crisis’ for an episode of BBC’s Panorama.
Here are my top takeaways from this emotional and inspiring episode.
“If you have cancer, the best thing you can do is not as kind of still remind yourself who you were before cancer”
If you don’t like something, fix it! If you don’t like the conversation, change it!
Never go along with something just because it’s the way it’s always been done. Deborah is determined to change the conversation around cancer after she didn’t see her own experience amidst all of the pink we associate with women and cancer.
The things that make you different, they’re your superpower
In her own words Deborah “got around dyslexia by developing a photographic memory!
Don’t park your health
No matter how busy you are, if you notice something different in your health go and speak to somebody. We’re busier than ever but your health will always be the most important thing.
Develop your resilience
Basically learn how to bounce back from failure! Things happen and you know what, that’s just life and we can’t control it but we can control how we respond to it.
Fake it until you feel it
We don’t feel happy all the time but one of the best ways to pull yourself out of a downwards spiral is to fake it until you feel it so laugh, smile and dance around in your kitchen!
Make a life plan and then rip it up!
Things don’t always go to plan but that doesn’t mean they’re not full of positivity and possibilities. Have the confidence to know that you will be okay.
Related podcast
Being a beacon of light in the face of adversity, with Deborah James, Bowel Babe
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