Dame Deborah James launches new t-shirts with a slogan saying ‘Rebellious Hope’
‘Rebellious Hope has got me through the last five years’: Dame Deborah James launches two new slogan T-shirts to raise money for her BowelBabe fund and says designing them has ‘kept her going’
Dame Deborah James, 40, recently shared her terminal bowel cancer diagnosis She’s been campaigning to raise awareness and money – raising over £6.5 mThe 40-year-old, from London, recently launched a collection with InTheStyleNow the campaigner is adding two more slogan shirts that say ‘Rebellious Hope’
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Dame Deborah James has launched two ‘Rebellious Hope’ t-shirts – saying that the slogan has ‘truly what has got [her] through the last 5 years’.
The new shirts are an addition to the collection the 40-year-old recently launched with InTheStyle to raise money for the BowelBabe fund, which she established to raise awareness of bowel cancer as well as money to fund research into the disease.
Deborah, who has been living with stage four bowel cancer since she was diagnosed in December 2016, recently announced she is receiving end-of-life care at her parents’ home in Woking.
Since then, the BowelBabe fund has hit more than £6.5 million, with more than £650,000 raised from her InTheStyle collection alone, which she said has made her ‘so so happy and thankful’.
40-year-old Deborah James, who is currently receiving end-of-life care at her parents’ home in Woking, has announced the launch of this new ‘Rebellious Hope’ t-shirt today
The campaigner, pictured here with her daughter Eloise, says that designing her clothing lime has been keeping her going
Posting about the two new shirts on Instagram, Dame Deborah wrote: ‘ Creating these have really kept me going the last few days and I’m so proud of them.
‘I talk about this quote a lot ‘Rebellious Hope’ – it’s truly what has got me through the last 5 years and I have been blow away by just how many of you have been supporting and wearing my t-shirt design.’
She added: ‘I’ve been up and down over the last couple of days being honest but where I’ve had the strength I’ve been discussing ideas and we have decided to do these two final designs at your request and it’s fair to say I absolutely LOVE them!’
Describing the two shirts, she said the black is a ‘fitted style with gold foil’, and the pink one is a ‘standard fit’ style, which is less dressy.
Deborah added that she had shared the Instagram post later than planned as she was having ‘one of those days…sadly like a lot of my days now’.
She concluded: ‘I’ve only just been able to be awake enough to do this! Argh dying is hard you know!! Thank you for your continued support, and kind messages.’
Today’s launch follows the main collection’s release on May 26th.
Announcing the launch on Instagram that day, Deborah shared a video, in which she spoke about designing the range, a time she described as a ‘hybrid’ life, working between home and the hospital.
But she said: ‘We made it, we got it done. I was enjoying it. It was kind of bringing me to life, it was giving me something else to think about.’
Designing the clothing line has been something ‘different to cancer’, according to Deborah, who credits creating the range with bringing her some happiness
The 40-year-old, pictured here with her daughter Eloise, is currently receiving end of life hospice care at her parents’ Woking home so her children don’t have to see her final days in their family home
She added: ‘The reason that I really wanted to do it is because it is something totally different to cancer.
‘I love fashion. Anybody that has followed me for years and years knows I love my dresses’, she said.
‘I am always hunting for the best prints. I love clothes, it makes me happy.’
The 40-year-old said she ‘really hopes’ everyone loves the collection as much as she loved designing it and that the clothing brings joy to people and makes them feel great when they put them on.
Rounding off her video, she revealed that she will be wearing a different dress from the collection from now until she dies.
She acknowledged that it sounds ‘slightly morbid’ but she is really enjoying it.
Her announcement of her collection comes after she recently told The Sun that she was ‘scared to fall asleep’ because she does not know how long she has got left.
She added she had felt a ‘deep love’ from her family, saying: ‘I think my family are knackered, they have all been incredible – going above and beyond to look after me and nurse me.’
Deborah was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in December 2016, and was told early on that she might not live beyond five years – a milestone that passed in the autumn of 2021.
She shared an Instagram post earlier this month revealing that ‘nobody knows how long she has left’.
She wrote: ‘The message I never wanted to write. We have tried everything, but my body simply isn’t playing ball.
‘My active care has stopped and I am now moved to hospice at home care, with my incredible family all around me and the focus is on making sure I’m not in pain and spending time with them.’
She is receiving hospice care at her parents’ home in Woking, to spare her children the difficult memories of her spending her final days at the family home in London.
