Deborah James' final wish was for everyone to 'check their poo' to check for bowel cancer.
The campaigner, who was known as BowelBabe on Instagram, died this week after a six-year battle with stage 4 bowel cancer.
She died surrounded by her family, who had released a statement on her heartbreaking passing in an Instagram post.
After announcing her death and sharing their pride in her achievements, they also shared a 'few final things from Deborah'.
"'Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo – it could just save your life'," it read.
The symptoms of bowel cancer are sometimes subtle and don't necessarily make you feel ill, according to official NHS guidelines.
Symptoms include a change in bowel habits (e.g. pooing more often), blood in the poo, abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating.
Bowel Cancer UK also said that people should watch out for feeling tired for no reason and a pain or lump in the tummy area.
It advised: "Most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer. Other health problems can cause similar symptoms.
"But if you have one or more of these, or if things just don’t feel right, go to see your GP."
43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year.
Following Deborah's death, Macmillan Cancer Support hailed her an "inspiration" and NHS bosses said she will "undoubtedly have saved many lives".
Macmillan Cancer Support tweeted: "We are so sad to hear that Deborah James has died, and our thoughts are with her family and many friends.
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"Deb has been an inspiration to us all. We’re so grateful for all of her generous support over the years, and her dedication to stand together with people with cancer."
Deborah was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer in 2016 and worked tirelessly ever since to raise money for vital research into life-saving treatments.
Between cancer treatments, she took part in a variety of fundraising challenges in aid of Bowel Cancer UK and raised £60,000 for the charity by the time she was named a patron in February 2021.
Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: "We’re deeply saddened that our patron Dame Deborah James has died, and our hearts go out to her family and everyone who knew and loved her.
"Deborah’s star shone bright; she was a true inspiration.
"She turned her bowel cancer diagnosis into an incredible force for good and through her tireless campaigning to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms, will have saved countless lives."
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