Dame Deborah James 'gave us so much hope in the darkest of days'

A woman from Worcestershire said cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James gave her family hope as they faced the disease.

Mother-of-two Dame Deborah has died at the age of 40 after receiving end-of-life care for bowel cancer at home.

Terri Smith, from Kidderminster, said her sister Megan Smith drew inspiration from Dame Deborah before her own death in September.

"She really gave us so much hope in the darkest of days," she said.

"She wore her heart on her sleeve and gave people the drive and the hope to move forward."

Dame Deborah raised millions of pounds for cancer research and tributes have been paid following her death, including by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Ms Smith said the campaigner had helped reduce the stigma around cancer, including around bowel movements when she urged people to "check your poo".

"My sister ended up having a stoma bag, which to some people that is a massive life-change in itself, but we just made a big joke out of it. She called it Homer the Stoma," she said.

Dame Deborah was one of the presenters of the BBC podcast You, Me And The Big C which won praise for how the trio talked about living with a cancer diagnosis.

Sophie Green, 32, from Fillongley, Warwickshire, contacted Dame Deborah via her Instagram profile after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September.

"She replied and told me to take it step-by-step and she would send me lots of love and she followed me back," she said.

Reading Dame Deborah's book also helped her "through some of the tougher times" and Ms Green said she adapted the podcast host's "amazing outlook".

"Sometimes I have to do cancer when I go to appointments and things, but my world does not revolve around it," she said.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]