William and Kate donate to fundraiser for ‘special’ campaigner Deborah James

James, 40, known as Bowel Babe online after campaigning to raise awareness of bowel cancer, has raised more than £3 million after setting up a Just Giving page.

The former headteacher was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016 and has kept her more than 500,000 Instagram followers up to date with her treatments.

In a personal tweet, William and Kate said: “Every now and then, someone captures the heart of the nation with their zest for life & tenacious desire to give back to society.

“@bowelbabe is one of those special people. Her tireless efforts to raise awareness of bowel cancer & end the stigma of treatment are inspiring.

“We are so sad to hear her recent update but pleased to support the @bowelbabef, which will benefit the @royalmarsdenNHS among others.

“Deborah, our thoughts are with you, your family and your friends. Thank you for giving hope to so many who are living with cancer. W & C.”

James has been treated at the Royal Marsden hospital, of which William is patron, and it is one of the beneficiaries of her fund.

The presenter of popular BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C disclosed on Monday that she had moved to hospice-at-home care to treat her terminal bowel cancer.

In an Instagram post she said she did not know how long she had left, and that while the last six months had been “heartbreaking” to go through, she had been surrounded by “so much love” and had “no regrets”.

Speaking about her decision to set up the Bowelbabe fund, James wrote: “I always knew there was one thing I always wanted to do before I died.

“I have always over the years raised as much awareness and money for the charities that are closest to me. @cr_uk @royalmarsden @bowelcanceruk

“As a result, the @bowelbabefund is being established and I’d love nothing more than for you to help it flourish. Please visit bowelbabe.org for all the info and to donate (link in Bio).”

The Just Giving page said it was “raising money to fund clinical trials and research into personalised medicine for cancer patients and supporting campaigns to raise awareness of bowel cancer”.